These Red Flags Will Still Attract Increased IRS Audit Attention
The IRS expects that taxpayers will live within their means. They earn, they pay their bills, and maybe they're lucky enough to save and invest a little money as well. It can trigger an audit if you're spending and claiming tax deductions for a significant portion of your income.
A mismatch sends up a red flag and causes the IRS computers to spit out a bill. If you receive a 1099 showing income that isn't yours or listing incorrect income, get the issuer to file a correct form with the IRS. Report all income sources on your 1040 return, whether or not you receive a form such as a 1099.
Triggers for small business audits include being a sole proprietor, claiming entertainment deductions and itemizing your business vehicle expenses. Knowing what catches the eye of the Internal Revenue Service can help you avoid an audit.
About 1 percent of taxpayers are audited, according to data furnished by the IRS. If you run a small business, though, your chances are slightly higher as about 2.5 percent of small business owners face an audit.
Who's getting audited? Most audits happen to high earners. People reporting adjusted gross income (or AGI) of $10 million or more accounted for 6.66% of audits in fiscal year 2018. Taxpayers reporting an AGI of between $5 million and $10 million accounted for 4.21% of audits that same year.
Technically, if you do not have these records, the IRS can disallow your deduction. Practically, IRS auditors may allow some reconstruction of these expenses if it seems reasonable. Learn more about handling an IRS audit.
The Short Answer: Yes. The IRS probably already knows about many of your financial accounts, and the IRS can get information on how much is there. But, in reality, the IRS rarely digs deeper into your bank and financial accounts unless you're being audited or the IRS is collecting back taxes from you.
Incorporate or form an LLC
Small businesses are audited more than corporations because incorporating shows some level of organization and financial competence on the part of the business.
Indeed, for most taxpayers, the chance of being audited is even less than 0.6%. For taxpayers who earn $25,000 to $200,000 the audit rate is less than 0.5%—that's less than 1 in 200. Oddly, people who make less than $25,000 have a higher audit rate.
As a result, the self-employed are more likely to get audited than regular employees. If you are self-employed, stick to these two rules (at a minimum) to avoid trouble: Claim all of your income. Don't take deductions for items you didn't have to pay for.
Schedule C is the tax form that unincorporated sole proprietor businesses use to report their income and expenses as part of their individual income tax returns.
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Sole Proprietors are Three Times More Likely to be Audited by the IRS.
| Schedule C underreporting | 193 |
|---|---|
| Corporate income tax | 39 |
| Estate tax | 5 |
A small-business audit costs anywhere from $5,000 to $75,000, depending on the size of the company, the complexity of its data and other factors—typically double the cost of a financial statement review, the next highest level of CPA-verified assurance after an audit.
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