What happens if your tax return is audited

First, a piece of advice. TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK KEY! By return you mean refund right? When you receive a notice from a tax authority, you should immediately notify whoever prepared your tax return.

If you prepared it yourself, you will. Often you can just mail or fax it in.

Sometimes you are required to come to their office in person. In some cases, you may be required to attend an in-person audit at a local IRS office. In-office tax audits are necessary when the IRS needs a more detailed explanation than what a document or receipt can provide. Not all audits are created equal.

The word audit simply means someone at the IRS is going to conduct an examination of your tax return. This could happen because something in your return raised a red flag or simply because your return was chosen at random. If the IRS requests a field audit an IRS officer comes to your home or place of business.

During the visit, they conduct a very detailed and in-depth review of your tax return.

An IRS audit can include your tax returns from the past three years. It is possible that older returns could be included if they think they’ve found a substantial problem. The IRS will tell you what to bring to the audit.

The statute of limitations for a tax return to be assessed by the IRS is typically three years, but in some cases it can be extended if an audit hasn’t been answered or resolved. See all full list on nerdwallet. Access IRS Tax Forms. Complete, Edit or Print Tax Forms Instantly. Therefore, being audited does not automatically mean that you have to pay penalties.

What Are Tax Audit Penalties? However, the IRS will examine your tax return to uncover any existing errors, problems, or outstanding balance of unpaid taxes. When happens when the audit is completed. When an audit is complete you will be notified of the agency’s determination. The three scenarios are: Substantiation: When the IRS determines that your tax information has been verifie you will be asked to sign the examination report and your filing will be processed as normal.

An audit occurs when the Internal Revenue Service selects your income tax return for review. During the audit, the IRS will analyze your return and supporting documentation to ensure that all entries are accurate. The average return won’t dramatically increase your audit chances, especially if you earn Form W-wages and don’t have a complicated tax situation. Recent personnel cuts at the IRS offices have also reduced the chances.

You could go your entire life without ever being audited.

Now, that’s some good news! A tax audit doesn’t automatically mean you’re in trouble. The experts agree: If an audit is going to happen, it will occur in the latter half of the three-year time frame.

Audits generally always happen two years after you file,” Zinman said. You’ve got to understand all of the hundreds of millions of people who live in this country and (who) file returns,. If it finds a significant understatement of income, it could look back at more years’ returns, but not more than the past six. OK, let’s just be straight-up: Your chances of facing an IRS audit are at an all-time low. Severe staff cutbacks coupled with budget limitations mean the IRS is auditing fewer and fewer taxpayers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Turn Your Returns Into Your Max Refund Today!