Audits, whether performed by the state, or the IRS, can be stressful and expensive. The best way to do well in an audit is to avoid one altogether. Follow these tax tips to improve your chances of achieving tax relief by avoiding a tax audit. You can also consult a tax attorney at Levy Tax Help to improve your return and your chances of avoiding IRS selection.
- You need to make sure that the status and dependents you claim are absolutely correct before submitting your return, if you want to avoid triggering an audit. For instance, are you separated or unmarried? What exactly is a “closely-related dependant?” Have you paid more than half of the cost for maintaining your home, making you a homeowner and head-of-household? Claiming one of these incorrectly will most likely trigger an audit from the IRS.
- If you are planning on claiming the earned Income Tax Credit, you need to make sure you adhere to the strict rules set forward. For example, you need to meet the strict age requirement, earned income bracket and other requirements.
- If your income has risen dramatically in the past year, or fallen dramatically, your return may be likely to trigger an audit, simply based on a computer scoring system called the Discriminate Function System, which rates potential for mistakes or dishonesty based on similar IRS returns.
- If your audit is missing something, from the date, your signature or your SSN, to your filing status, the return will be mailed back to you. This raises the audit potential of your return, and may cause your refund to be held temporarily.
