What is the IRS?

IRS stands for Internal Revenue Service. Their job is to basically make sure the laws put in place around taxes are being followed. That’s why you always hear phrases like “The IRS is after me”… but hopefully not from anyone you know. The IRS enforces tax law, processes tax returns, and performs taxpayer service.

Auditing your tax returns

An audit is when the IRS does a deep review of your tax returns to ensure everything you entered is correct. The IRS doesn’t audit all tax returns, but there are a few things that can trigger an audit – do your absolute best to avoid these mistakes regardless:

• Incorrectly input information: From your name to social security number, to adding instead of subtracting… these can all lead to an audit.
• Wrongly reported earnings: Careful… you don’t wanna mess this up. The IRS receives all the same forms you do – 1099s, W-2, etc. They know your income, so if you’re trying to pay less taxes by reporting lower income, they’ll get ya.
• Are you self-employed?: Self-employed folks often have much more complex tax returns, so it often makes the IRS more… curious… because of the margin for error.
• Other audit triggers: Anything from deduction and credit issues to inputting the wrong filing status can also trigger an audit.

I know this sounds kinda scary. Don’t let it frighten you. As long as you’re keeping things organized and filing your taxes, you won’t have to worry about the IRS.

Source(s): IRS