The IRS Audit Blog

Posts Tagged ‘filing taxes’

Question: Will my injured spouse claim be processed in 8 weeks?

I filed my taxes jointly and already received my refund minus a big chunk that my husbnad owed for back taxes. This was a debt that he owed before we were married. I was told by an IRS representative to file an injured spouse form which I did at the beginning of March. They said it generally takes 8 weeks to process and to expect my return around the beginning of May. I’m just curious to know if anyone else has filed an injured spouse form after filing taxes and how long it took to get the refund back? Also, did you receive back a fair amount?

Answer: If you are lucky it will be processed that fast.

Newlywed Tax Returns: Wedding Present Or Party Crasher?

For many couples, it pays to file for taxes together. But what are some of the obstacles you should watch out for?

Question: Do I get in trouble for over-reporting my income on tax returns? Or just under reporting?

I’m self-employed. If I don’t take all my deductions, in order to make my net look higher than it would be otherwise, does the IRS care? After all, they’d be making more money right?

In other words, are deductions optional?

Also, what if I accidentally put a larger gross than I actually made? Won’t an audit reveal I’m due a refund?

Answer: You could get in trouble , if caught, if you did it in order to commit fraud. Two possibilities come to mind: Exaggerating your income to increase earned income credit (defrauding the government), or exaggerating your income to qualify for a loan (defrauding the bank).

Tax Tips: The joys (and woes) of self employment

As the economy continues to stumble along with uncertainty, many are starting to look at the self-employment option as the way to get ahead.

Tips for Filing Taxes : How to Appeal an IRS Audit

Question: Which do you think gives you a higher chance of being Audit By The Irs, paper or efile?

I am pretty sure the IRS goes through every line to make sure everything is correct and reasonably legit whether its paper or efile but there are some believers that say if you efile your return then you are more likely to be audited because the computer can easily pick up everything better than a person reviewing paper who is prone to looking over things. So what do you think?

Answer: There is no information to say one way or the other on this question. However the IRS publishes that there is less than a one percent error rate when you efile. As part of the efile transmission process efiled returns are automatically checked for common errors. If there is an error or missing info the IRS will send back the return so you may correct the error and resend quickly.
When you file a paper return it must be keyed in manually so there is a greater chance that the person that manually keys in your information may make a mistake. You also run the risk of the process taking much longer because if there is an error the IRS will mail the form back to you. I suggest efiling with a service like Turbo Tax. They make it easy to efile with an audit checker to decrease the chances of errors on your form. Check them out at FileTaxesToday.com.

EO -Kosmos Probe Heading For An Anti-climax!

Protracted and in-depth investigations sponsored by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and the Government of Ghana (GoG) into alleged criminal deals including possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of the USA relative to the acquisition of a stake in Ghana’s Jubilee Oil Fields by Kosmos and the EO Group in July 2004, have hit a wall as no credible evidence of criminality and …

Tips for Filing Taxes : How to Keep Tax Records for Charity