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Category: Audits

IRS: Accounting error in your favor?

Learning that the IRS is going to audit you or your business can be incredibly stressful. You may be worried about the time or expense it will take to prepare for the audit or nervous that it will reveal mistakes or misconduct and trigger harsh penalties. However, not all audits […]

Audits

Top three triggers for an IRS audit

There are many potential red flags on your tax return. Most of us know that the Earned Income Tax Credit is something that can provoke an audit. We’ve also talked about lifestyle triggers; buying or writing off luxury items such as sports cars and first-class international airfare when your income […]

Audits

Can I write off my first-class plane ticket?

Anyone who’s ever flown first class to Europe knows that it makes a difference. When you are gastronomically pampered with a five-course French meal, including a cheese selection and a buttery croissant, that is also expertly paired with a 68-degree Bordeaux or bubbly Comtes Grand Cru AND you get to […]

Audits

What is a “lifestyle trigger” for the IRS?

Essentially a lifestyle is triggered when a person’s assets do not match their reported income. Through the lens of the IRS, the thinking goes something like this: If you own a mansion, a second or third vacation property, an expensive car, and a personal jet, it seems unlikely that your […]

Audits

Who can be a tax preparer?

While those who work in tax preparation are well-versed in this area, many people who go to a tax preparer are unaware of the differences. This post seeks to bring clarity to the different levels of education and certification a tax preparer may have. Anyone can call themselves a tax […]

Audits

5 surprising mistakes tax preparers make

Tax preparers, while being ever diligent, but still human, are prone to mistakes. When tax season hits the long hours and intense workload can increase the chances of an oversight. No one wants to make a mistake, especially on a tax return. While filing status is significant, other oversights or […]

Audits

What exactly is intent?

Intention, more times than not, is a “catch-all” criminal charge. Why? Because you do not have to prove someone actually DID something, only that they were going to do something, or acted with intention. So, the intent is not the actual doing of something, it is the mental preparation to […]

Audits