Tampa Tax Attorney Discusses Preventing an IRS Audit Most people are afraid of getting a tax audit primarily because of the horror stories from those who have been into the process. The painful reality is although many of these stories are sound horrible and outrageous, some of them are factual. Individual tax payers and business entities can be audited at any time. But as per statistics, roughly 1.5% of all tax returns in the United States are ever audited annually. This is because there are a number of precautions that can be taken to lessen the chances of being audited. The first step is making sure you declare all of your income completely, regardless of what source you get it from. IRS guidelines clearly state what is required to be reported on a tax return of employees, independent contractors and business entities. Even cash or tips earned also need to be declared and included in your tax return to avoid IRS problems. Another good tip in avoiding an IRS audit is ensuring that you have the proper documents available to be able to prove everything that you have written, should it be necessary. The W-2 or the 1099, which is provided by your employer and which reports the amount you have earned in the previous year while employed in that particular company, is among the examples of these documents. Just make sure that the numbers in the W-2 match the entries on your tax return. Also, be sure that your return is free from math errors. This type of errors is easy to spot and will come to the attention of the IRS. So take the time to check the computations on your tax return. Ensure that you have placed the correct entries on the correct lines of the tax forms. The IRS assumes that a sloppy math computation means a sloppy filling out of the other areas in the tax return. A common mistake among self-employed business owners and contractors is their declaration of a home office. The IRS requires that your home office is distinctly used only for business in order for it to be eligible for the associated deductions. Simply claiming a home office will often bring your tax return to the attention of the IRS. Since this is the case, you may want to make certain that you have a solid case against any issues they may have so that you do not end up having a big IRS problem. A simple example is the fact that occasionally working in your dining room does not imply that such can be considered a home office. Personal belongings must not be kept in your home office and personal activities like parties and social gatherings must not be conducted there. In addition, not more than 20% of your home should be declared as home office. Although it may seem that the government is against you and you cannot adequately battle an audit, certain precautions are available to avoid one. Another important thing to remember is to remain composed and keep in mind that there are options you can take to protect yourself. After all, no one wants to turn a small glitch in the tax return into a big IRS issue.
Darrin T. Mish is a Nationally recognized Attorney whose practice focuses on representing clients across the United States with IRS Problems. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbel and is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. He has been honored by a listing in Martindale-Hubbel's Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. His passion is providing IRS help to taxpayers with both individual and payroll tax problems. He also spends a great deal of time traveling the nation providing training to attorneys, CPAs and Enrolled Agents on how to handle their toughest cases with the IRS. If you would like more information about his services please visit http://getirshelp.com.