Although there is no surefire method to prevent an audit, there are some warning signs you can look out for to lessen your chances of an IRS investigation. You had very little chance of having your small company tax return examined up until lately. Here are the top 10 ways to avoid tax audit.
According to information from the IRS, only 140 partnership reports out of a total of 4 million were inspected in 2018. That is very near 0%.
Although it’s difficult to entirely exclude the potential of an IRS audit, by taking these precautions you can significantly lower the likelihood that you’ll be selected for one. (Photo: https://groco.com/)
S companies fared a little better, with 397, or.01%, of the total. However, the IRS stated in late 2020 that it would be hiring inspectors to enable the agency to up its audit volume by 50% in 2021, which means your chances of being inspected have just increased.
How to avoid tax audit investigation
By filing your taxes in a specific way and ignoring others, you can reduce the likelihood to avoid tax audit investigation; you just need to know how to maximize your “DIF” number. The IRS employs a software called DIF, which means for “discriminate information function,” to decide whether your small business-related tax return is eligible for an investigation.
Although DIF data are kept confidential, the following measures can help you lower your risk of being inspected to avoid tax audit. Your investigation chances are influenced by the decisions you make regarding how to submit, when to file, and which exemptions to claim. The following 10 steps can help you prevent a company to avoid tax audit
You should refrain from triggering any of these caution signs.
- Avoid reporting losses – Steven Jon Kaplan, President of True Contrarian Ventures, LLC, advises company owners “never to disclose a total yearly loss for any firm to avoid tax audit, particularly a modest loss.” “A total company deficit virtually begs for an investigation in the eyes of the IRS. All of your revenue must be reported, but not all of your expenditures. If leaving out a few expenses results in a tiny nett surplus for the year, do so.”
- Describe costs in detail – When deciding whether to include a specific expenditure in a broad group or to specifically list it under “Other Fees,” Kaplan says, “always prefer clearly mentioning it.” If you combine advertising and travel costs rather than itemizing each distinct advertising and travel expense, the IRS may believe you are attempting to create fictitious expenses avoid tax audit
- Add more information as necessary – Instead of assuming that a prospective auditor will comprehend why your travel expenses abruptly decreased by 100% in the previous year or why your online advertising expenses skyrocketed by 300%, complete additional paperwork and include it with your return when you file to provide a thorough explanation of what occurred. In this manner, if your return is activated and you come into contact with a live person, you will have already addressed many of their enquiries regarding the abrupt alterations.
- Be punctual – Terrigino basically rejects the notion that submitting late—even with an extension—can lower the likelihood of being audited. To establish a past of conformance, including all auxiliary forms (such as salary and sales tax), he advises, “Submit on time and pay on time.”
- Refrain from revising returns – Terrigino advises against doing it frequently, at the very least, which can attest to your conformance record.
- Compare every piece of paper – Make sure all government-issued documents, such as 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, etc., match what you record on the tax return, advises Terrigino, as the IRS chooses which accounts to investigate based on inconsistencies. Your calculations must line up to avoid tax audit
- Avoid repeating the same digits – Don’t use the same reduction amounts year after year, particularly round figures [unless it is a real figure], advises Terrigino. Costs should fluctuate, so if yours haven’t, that might raise some questions.
- Avoid making too many calculations – According to Terrigino, this entails not overestimating the size of your contributions, not taking an excessive home office expense, and not taking an excessive food and trip reimbursement. These and other costs, such as poor debt, property damages, and hospital expenditures, are carefully investigated. Additionally, avoid abruptly adding a lot of adjustments that you’ve never made before. That draws attention in order to avoid tax audit
- Utilize Plan C – Always use Form C to record small company profits, advises Kaplan. Although there are other strategies that occasionally allow you to escape paying all of your Medicare payment or offer other benefits, they also significantly raise the chance of being audited. He asserts that Category Cs are less likely to be inspected.
- Avoid leaving queries unanswered – Every query on the tax form needs to have a suitable response, even if that response is zero dollars. Make sure you’ve finished each pertinent paragraph. Unwanted additional focus may be directed at your return as a result of an unintended error.
To Sum It Up
In the end, it’s crucial to realize that the chances of an investigation are slim. In general, audits are more likely to occur for companies and people whose profits are in the millions of dollars. Simply avoid tax audit giving the IRS a cause to want to examine your numbers more closely, and you’ll save some time.
Read More:
Common Tax Practices that Will Trigger a Tax Audit
Tax Audit Red Flags and How to Avoid Them
Free Face-to-Face tax assistance and Taxpayer Assistance Centers open on certain Saturday IRS
