On: May 1, 2020
IRS audit is no one’s dream. There are, however, things you can do to prepare, which will make them far less painful and much easier for you. Here are some tips for how to prepare for an IRS audit.
To know how to prepare for an IRS audit, you must first understand what happens during an IRS audit and why.
An audit is initiated by the IRS if and when they question the legitimacy of your claimed income. People sometimes mislead the IRS about the true nature of their annual income. The IRS, therefore, sees it as its job to investigate these cases. During these investigations, the IRS seeks to verify how much the individual in question is making versus how much they are claiming.
During the audit processes, auditors will ask that you provide documents to verify your income. You should have all of these ready and on-file. An audit should not require you to find or create any new materials. But if, for some reason, you do not have the original materials, you can usually find a way to create copies. Just make sure that you only provide your auditors the actual material they requested. Do not volunteer any new material that has not been requested.
The IRS will contact you by phone or mail if there seems to be any problem with your taxes. While some people are in the habit of ignoring any calls that are from numbers they don’t recognize, if you have legitimate messages from the IRS, you should not ignore them because the problem will not just go away unless you consciously decide to take care of it.
One thing to be sure of, though, is that if you are on the phone with an “auditor,” you do not simply give him your sensitive personal information (like your social security number) without first being certain that who you are talking to is legit from the IRS
There are several documents the IRS may need you to provide to conduct their audit.
If the IRS is auditing you or someone you know, you should take the time to get prepared. And always make sure to call Leading Tax Group and don’t attempt to do it yourself.