9 Red Flags That Could Get You Audited By the IRS

Getting audited is not common. In fact, the IRS only audited 1 in 160 individual tax returns in 2018. A decade ago, there was an audit rate of 1 in 90.  Every year, the number of taxpayers audited has been slowly dropping

Cuts at the IRS have resulted in fewer staff members, and, as a result, fewer audits.

The more money you make, the higher the likelihood of being audited. If you’re making north of a $1 million per year, there is a 1 in 25 chance of you being audited.

There’s only a .5 – .6 % chance that you will join the ranks of the audited. The odds are low, but you don’t want to fib or flub your tax return and risk an expensive and time-consuming audit process.  That percentage still puts about 1 million taxpayers on the hook each year. Here are 8 ways you could become one of them.

Claiming Home Office Deductions   

In order to claim home office deductions, you need to ensure that the area you’re dedicating is only used for business.

Claiming a home office deduction means you can prorate some of your household expenses like:

• Utility bills

• Homeowner’s association fees

• And more

This is done on a fractional basis,  based on the percentage of your home that the home office space takes up.

It is also an area that is often abused, which is why claiming home office deductions can be risky business.

Giving a Lot to Charity  

If you’re giving too much to charity, then the IRS will question the validity of your donations. They know how much those who make the same amount you do and giving too much will often signal that something fishy is at play.

Be sure to keep all receipts and records for your charitable donations. It’s recommended to write checks for charitable donations, which are much harder to falsify than other forms of donation.

Using Digital Currencies 

This one is a little newer. The government is looking for those that aren’t reporting income from cryptocurrencies.

Sure, it’s not the US dollar, but the government still wants to know what you’re making from it. Failure to report crypto income could result in worse than an audit, it could lead to a large fine ($250,000) or prison time.

Not Reporting Taxable Income  

This one is simple. Be sure to provide the IRS with every 1099 and W-2 from every job you’ve had this year.

Just because you don’t send one in, doesn’t mean that the IRS doesn’t know about them. A copy of all your tax forms are sent to the IRS, so you can’t just pretend certain jobs didn’t exist.

They’re looking for those participating in businesses that operate in large amounts of cash and those working in the gig economy.

Deducting Entertainment, Meal, and Travel Costs  

You can’t claim entertainment costs on your taxes anymore, so don’t try. You can still deduct travel and meal costs, but you need to be very clear with your records in order to stay in the clear with the IRS. We recommend recording:

• Amount spent

• Location

• A list of those that attended

• The business purpose of the meeting

Keep receipts for any meal or travel costs that are over $75.

Claiming Losses   

Claiming losses of any kind on your tax ups the chances that you’ll get audited.

Some types of losses include:

• A business that reports losses for 3 years – this makes the IRS view your business as a hobby

• Rental losses – Find a tenant that stays and pays

• Stock market losses

Claiming these types of losses and others could be a red flag that gets your business audited.

Filing a Form 5213  

This form basically tells the IRS to not audit you for the first 5 years of your businesses’ life. It can help you transition from a hobby to a business, but once the 5 year period is up, you’re now under the microscope.

Be aware of this if you have already filed this form or are considering it.

Having Bank Accounts in Other Countries 

It’s not a crime to have bank accounts in other countries, but it is a common tactic for those attempting to hide income from the IRS.

Don’t do it.

If you have foreign bank accounts, be sure to report any that combined have an excess of $10,000+ anytime in the prior year. You can do this electronically or with an IRS Form 8938 if you have an account with far more than $10,000 in them.

Falsifying Tax Form or Making Errors  

If you file your taxes with a preparer that the IRS knows has falsified taxes, you might be on the hook instead of the CPA you hired.

Additionally, basic math errors are another type of issue that could draw the attention of an IRS agent. Use a tax preparing software or a trust tax preparer to negate any of those sorts of issues.

Your chances of being audited are low. But why take the risk? Some of the red flags on this list are unavoidable if you’re filing your taxes properly. Others are completely avoidable.

To cover yourself, hire a tax professional that will not only ensure that your taxes are done properly, but also will represent you if you are one of the million taxpayers that are audited each year.