Have you ever been audited?

[ManBearPig]

Well? Is it a pain in the ass? I don't make money or pay taxes so I don't have to worry about it, just curious.

 

[rivan]

I have. And yes, it was.

I'm much more organized about my records now.

 

[Mr Pickles]

You don't make money or pay taxes?

 

[Jugernot]

Originally posted by: MrLee
You don't make money or pay taxes?

My guess is that he fits into the solid majority here at ATOT, living at home with his parents and doesn't need to work.

 

[Drako]

Yes, was audited once.

Was not really a pain in the ass because I had all my documentation in order.

 

[Lalakai]

I was audited once and fortunately i had good records. spent nearly 6 hours with the person and only found 1 error (wasn't really an error, just lost a set of mileage logs). ended up paying $45 to cover the mileage issue. When i talked with the auditor afterwards, she said that normally it doesn't take that long and that usually they find more errors (she said their average was approximately $300 in addional taxes per hour of auditing). So i shot their average lol. But she was very very thorough and the dates, receipts, mileage logs, ect, all had to be consistent. I wouldn't have a problem being audited again, knowing what they are looking for and what type of records i need, to support my situation.

good luck

 

[darkxshade]

for those who answered yes, what did you do to get audited? I imagine it would be a pain if it were to happen to me since I don't really keep much records.

 

[BoomerD]

Yes, and even though I had all the documents I needed to back up my case, I still lost.

 

[jagec]

Yup. Forgot to give them the cost basis for a stock transaction. It was a bit of a pain getting it sorted out, but it was decided in my favor.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Not personally, no, but I am fairly involved in the annual audit of my organization. Last year was my first year doing it, and the woman responsible for the largest event of the year quit unexpectedly 2 weeks after it was over. Well, her records were terrible, and it took literally months to sort everything out, make sure all the money was accounted for and track everything down. It totally sucked ass. She was a fine person normally, but if I ever see her on the street, I'm kicking her ass on sight.

So an audit totally sucks ass if you don't have proper documentation. If you keep good records, theoretically everything should go fine.

 

[ManBearPig]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Yes, and even though I had all the documents I needed to back up my case, I still lost.

What happened since you lost? All this stuff is kinda interesting.

 

[theknight571]

Yes... I think. lol. We received notice that we owed the IRS $3000 for 2 "errors" 3 years prior.

I was able to counter one of the errors and they let me go on that one.... but the other was me misunderstanding where to record the #'s and I added an amount to the wrong box... oh well... live and learn.

I ended up having to pay roughly $1700.

I never met with anyone though, this was all done via snail mail.... and even the $1700 was taken out of my return that year... which was good, since I didn't have the cash at the time.

 

[jersiq]

I've never been audited, but my brother-in-law was an IRS agent.

From the stories he told me, they were very thorough sometimes only seeing two "auditees" a day. Of course, this also depended on the nature and willingness to co-ooperate as well as they type of audit. (personal or small business)

He once told me that he had a fake name that he used for auditing correspondences with his "targets"
Also, he said that he did get rated on how much he found in errors on peoples returns. He had to find a set amount revenue per month, almost like a quota system.

Whether or not these last two points are true is beyond me though.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

I'm an auditor but I don't work for the IRS.

Yes, people generally do not like me and yes it's a pain in the ass as we expect flawless record keeping.

 

[hiromizu]

Originally posted by: rivan
I have. And yes, it was.

I'm much more organized about my records now.

QFMFT.

 

[Gooberlx2]

My uncle, who is an independent graphic designer, was audited last year because it was a much better year income-wise, but also because he had to make equipment upgrades and write a bunch of stuff off. So the sudden disparity in income and costs from previous years apparently threw a flag. He said it was a horrible PITA, because he had worked with so many clients over the years and he hadn't done a very good job of being organized with all his receipts, orders, invoices, etc...

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Drako
Yes, was audited once.

Was not really a pain in the ass because I had all my documentation in order.

What kind of documents do they need?

(No, I've never been audited.)

 

[Parasitic]

How much money do you guys make and accumulate in taxes that you get audited?
I'm making next to nothing with my grad school stipend and some 1099-INT stuff only.

 

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
I'm an auditor but I don't work for the IRS.

Yes, people generally do not like me and yes it's a pain in the ass as we expect flawless record keeping.

don't you think as an auditor, the reason why you're auditing is because there's something wrong with the auditee's records?

 

[Reckoner]

Those brave crackatoans!

 

[JEDI]

i dont make enuf $ (on paper) to be audited.

they wont audit you unless they make $ on the deal.

like the poster that said $300/hr.

so if they dont think they'll get money from stone, you should be safe.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Drako
Yes, was audited once.

Was not really a pain in the ass because I had all my documentation in order.

don't know how you could say that unless you were a 1040ez filer.

I know a lot of small business owners that more or less walked out of it with just a minor ass donut at worse.

I don't know any private filer that was audited, but outside that it's not fun.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: AkumaX

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
I'm an auditor but I don't work for the IRS.

Yes, people generally do not like me and yes it's a pain in the ass as we expect flawless record keeping.

don't you think as an auditor, the reason why you're auditing is because there's something wrong with the auditee's records?

I would say as an auditor he would expect it, but it may not happen.

The reason companies hire third-parties is to save them money usually.

It may cost a little to get them to come out, but it's much cheaper than the penalties esp if it's sat one until the statute runs out and you are hit with the penalties and interest.

 

[Lalakai]

someone had asked about type of records to keep, and what might trigger an audit.

type of records would include everything that you use related to tax information. when i was audited i had a small business that i ran from my house, so i used some of the deductions from the house. i had calulations on square foot of room, then used that in relation of portions of expenses that were deducted. Mileage logs recorded date, destination, start and stop mileage; if used for trainings, the recipts for the trainings were cross referenced to the mileage logs. Meticulous and overkill??? lol not after being audited. Once the auditor started seeing the details in the records (highlighted line items in phone bills, highlighted items on CC's, ect), then she would jump to a different area.

And yes i do think they almost run on a type of "quota" system for the amount of money that they receive due to finding errors. My auditor wasn't antagonistic, but extremely thorough and wanted to see the smallest records and documents. Fortunately i had them and they were fairly well organized. Like i said earlier, the only thing she found was an inconsistancy on the mileage logs and that was due to my wife recording her mileage in a different book. When i got home after the audit (and having to pay a minor amount), i found the missing logs and was real tempted to go back and file an errors and omissions, but the amount was small and the auditor had been pretty decent through it all, so i just chalked it up to experience.

What triggers it? Small personal businesses are always high on their hit list, especially if you run it from your home. Auditors tend to shy away from the larger businesses because they are significantly more complex and the auditors "cost:benefit" ratio drops due to the amount of time they have to spend. And that old axiom: if it's too good to be true......it probably isn't; if you suddenly find that you are eligible for a huge unexpected tax return, make sure your numbers are good because that same sense of unexpectedness will also register with the IRS and make you more likely to get an audit.

 

[eplebnista]

no