IRS Audits – Robert T. Stevenson, P.C., CPA

Is That Knock at the Door Someone From the IRS, or Someone Scary?

31 Oct 2017Leave a comment

Happy Halloween! Read on for an update on the federal aid package for hurricane and wildfire victims. Plus, I teach you how to distinguish an IRS employee form a common scammer—or a neighborhood trick-or-treater.

Disaster Aid Package is Signed by the President

In my October 17 post, I discussed the $36.5 billion aid package for hurricane and wildfire victims that had passed in the House. It finally passed in the Senate and President Trump signed the bill on October 26, 2017. I also mentioned that the financially troubled National Flood Insurance Program would be bailed out—it received approximately $17 billion. I have heard people complain that their loss far exceeded their insurance reimbursement and I have also heard the uninsured speak of how difficult it was to get paid for their loss from FEMA. We now understand that there wasn’t enough aid to go around. Due to this current infusion of aid for disaster relief in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, California, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, I would suggest you go online again.

It’s Halloween! Is That Knock at the Door Someone From the IRS, or Someone Scary?

Children knock on doors pretending to be spooks and movie characters. Scammers don’t limit their impersonations to just one day. People can avoid falling victim to scammers by knowing how and when the IRS does contact a taxpayer in person. These 8 tips can help you determine if an individual is truly an IRS employee.

1. The IRS initiates most contacts through regular mail delivered by the USPS.
2. There are special circumstances when the IRS will come to a home or business. These are:

When a taxpayer has an overdue bill.
When the IRS needs to secure a delinquent tax return or a delinquent payroll tax payment.
To tour a business as part of an audit.
As part of a criminal investigation.

3. Generally, home or business visits are unannounced and are made by IRS Revenue Officers.
4. IRS Revenue Officers carry two forms of identification. Both forms have serial numbers, and taxpayers can ask to see both IDs.
5. The IRS can assign certain cases to private debt collectors, but the IRS does this only after giving written notice to the taxpayer or their appointed representative. Private debt collection agencies will never visit a taxpayer at their home or business.
6. The IRS will not ask a taxpayer to make a payment to anyone other than the “United States Treasury.”
7. IRS employees conducting audits may call taxpayers to set up appointments, but only after notifying them by mail.
8. IRS criminal investigators may visit a taxpayer’s home or business unannounced while conducting an investigation. These are federal law enforcement agents and they will not demand any sort of payment. At this stage, you should have a tax attorney and privileged communication.

Taxpayers who believe they were visited by someone impersonating the IRS can visit IRS.gov for information on how to report it.

3 Common Tax Return Myths

26 Sep 201726 Sep 2017Leave a comment

Nobody wants to be the target of an IRS audit. Fear of an audit leads taxpayers to believe myths about what may or may not catch the eyes of the IRS. Unfortunately, these misconceptions could steer taxpayers toward greater audit risk and a higher tax liability. Below, I unpack three widespread individual tax return myths — and reveal the truth behind them.

Myth #1: Extending an Individual Return Increases Your Chances of Being Audited

The IRS offers an automatic six month extension to all individuals with no explanation necessary. If the IRS viewed extended returns as risky, then there would be rules in place to restrict extensions. Quite the opposite is true — the IRS makes it very easy for individuals to file extensions.

Individuals may rush to file their personal returns out of fear that they will be penalized for an extension, even if their returns are incomplete or inaccurate. This behavior may result in higher audit risk if the IRS catches the inaccuracies. Instead, taxpayers should take the time to collect and review their tax information to ensure they have included everything. If that involves filing an extension, then it is better to extend than to file without all of the information.

While an automatic extension extends your time to file your income tax return, it does not extend the time you have to pay your tax. If you expect to owe additional money with your income tax return, then you will need to pay all tax due when you file your extension.

Myth #2: Getting a Large Refund Means You Are Maximizing Deductions and Minimizing Risk

A large income tax refund may simply mean that you are over withholding on your Form W-2 or overpaying your estimated taxes. That refund is actually interest-free money that you overpaid to the government.

Be leery of those who brag about their IRS Refunds. Rather than optimizing deductions, they may be getting back money that they had over withheld. Discuss your personal circumstances with your CPA to ensure that you maximize your deductions.

Large refunds have now become potential red flags for the IRS. With the drastic increase in identity theft, the IRS is now on the lookout for returns seeking large refunds to ensure that those returns are legitimate.

Myth #3: Individuals Should Not Take the Home Office Deduction Due to Audit Risk

Unlike in the past, working from home is very common today due to technology and the savings to companies in office space. Therefore, remote employees and the self-employed do not necessarily increase their audit risk.

There are some rules to consider. First, individuals can only claim space used exclusively and regularly for business. Also, the home office deduction is available only to individuals who do not have nearby access to a physical office location. Also, the deduction is only allowed to the extent of profit in the business.

If you have additional tax questions, give me a call at (713) 785-8939. I’d love to hear from you.