Tax Audit Advice

Tax audits should be dealt with quickly to avoid extra penalties.

File your return online

Avoid mistakes, and take advantage of all possible credits and deductions. Best of all, with Turbo Tax you can work on your return for free, until you file. Work on your federal, state, and small business taxes, and pay nothing until you are satisfied with your return. Start now.

Click here to start

Tax audit advice: three types

There are three types of audits:

  • An office audit.
  • A field audit.
  • A correspondence audit.

Most office audits cover:

  • employee business expenses,
  • itemized deductions,
  • charitable contributions,
  • moving expense deductions, and
  • income from tips,
  • rental property, and
  • capital gains.

Sidebar
Reduce the likelihood that you'll be audited by filing your return online and having H&R Block double-check it for errors.

Field and correspondence tax audits

Businesses are the primary target of field audits.


Correspondence audits deal with:

  • itemized deductions,
  • small casualty and theft losses,
  • small business expenses,
  • family credits,
  • retirement plan payments, and
  • some income items.

Be prepared to provide documented proof of your expenses.

Do not ignore irs audit notices.

Tax Audit Advice: the Tip Offs

The IRS targets people using these "tip-offs":

  • Unusually large itemized deductions
  • A home-office deduction
  • Claiming large amounts for travel and entertainment expenses
  • Large losses in a business for many consecutive years
  • Large casualty-loss deductions
  • Incorrect or inaccurate information from official documents
  • Filing an estate-tax return


Next: Types of tax audit notices.

Related tax audit forms

Get more information about responding to tax audits from the IRS - Publication 556.

For more information on your rights as a taxpayer, consult Publication 1.

Note: you will need an Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these publications, which you can get here. (But you probably already have it.)