Most individuals and businesses are required to file financial information to the IRS, but that does not mean that people put accurate information in the forms that they file. If the IRS is not confident that an individual is reporting accurate tax information, they may subject them to a formal audit of their finances. In these instances, an individual or a business owner may want to get together with their tax professional to discuss different tax services. Trinity residents who are being audited might not know what information that they need to provide to the IRS, but this something that can be answered by a professional CPA.
Why Would Someone be Audited?
While it is true that IRS audits are for individuals that have questionable tax information, but it should also be known that this is not the only reason why someone may be audited. For example, the IRS can randomly select someone for an audit based on a statistical formula, or computer and electronic screening. Regardless of the reason for the of the audit, the IRS will be looking at the same information that needs to be collected with a CPA’s tax services. Trinity residents need to be aware that they should never accept a call or email from someone claiming to be from the IRS. The IRS will always send a method of contract through the mail.
What Information is Needed for the IRS?
The IRS often expect individuals to provide specific documents that they want to see, and this can be different from case to case depending on the discrepancies identified. It is important to note that in some instances electronic records are able to be submitted instead of physical ones, but this does not apply to all documents that may be produced as a result of professional tax services. Trinity residents need to understand that by law they are required to save all records to prepare a tax return for at least three years after they were filed. The IRS does not accept the excuse that someone cannot produce the correct documents they are asking for.
*Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Suncoast CPA Group*