Leaner IRS Doesn't Mean Audit Of Your Tax Return Is An Impossibility
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --You've probably heard that the IRS has reduced staff in recent years, and that could lead you to believe an audit is nearly out of the question. If so, you better think again.
There are fewer people at the IRS to do audits -- but computers have taken over and an audit is still a real possibility. If you do get audited, your first call should be for help, according to Karen Facer-Mee, a CPA in Richboro, Bucks County.
"You are entitled to be represented by a CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney," Facer-Mee said. "So my advice is to hire a professional that is permitted to represent you and not all tax preparers are."
She says an audit can be initiated because you have a high income, have rental or farm income, claim an in-home office or have higher itemized deductions than the average taxpayer. She adds, not all audits are bad, sometimes the result is the IRS owes you money.
She says in 2015, almost 40,000 audits resulted in refunds of $1.1 billion.