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M$3.05 October 23, 2009 07:44 PM

Have you ever been audited?

Nicolas Cage, Wesley Snipes and a few others have come under fire as of late because of tax problems.

The IRS aggressively goes after those owing taxes and often times will do spot audits without warning.

Have you ever been audited? What was your biggest concern during this period of time?
Interesting Question?  Yes (1)   No (0)   

Interesting: jeffhoard M$2.05

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October 25, 2009 12:18 AM
I was audited once when I was 17/18. Why? They didn't believe that I was renting at age 18. I included rent receipts when I originally submitted my tax return.. they sent it back and give me my refund as normal... it was several months later they contacted me asking to see the receipts again. I think the reason was that I was renting from a private home owner... and he didn't claim our income. Infact, he claimed a lot of things that would leave him owing thousands or possibly in jail - he just never got audited. I even had renter's insurance (part of my parents home insurance plan - your children are covered at no extra cost no matter where they live as long as they are 26 or under and in school, including post secondary. One of my roommates was audited as well - another claimed EVERYTHING in some way - she even claimed her groceries as a school expense, and she was never audited.
I'm a little worried I may be audited for 2008 still (taxes weren't due til April), as again, I was renting, at two different locations (moved in July)... the first was the same place I was audited for before, the other was a home which was sold in November - again under private home owners, and I have no idea if they claimed us - so I had 3 separate landlords during that time.
Even though my taxes are pretty minimal - school expenses, rent and medical is really all I have to claim as I don't really own anything, I'm always nervous I will make a mistake. I'd never lie on my taxes intentionally, but things like medical bills - I can't remember which ones were covered by my insurance and which were out of pocket... what would happen if I claimed an expense and got a return, even though I didn't actually pay that bill? It's mistakes that worry me rather than silly things, though I think most of my expenses and income are minimal enough I wouldn't owe more than a couple hundred dollars at most.
Though maybe Canadian Taxes are a lot different than american - I wouldn't know!
Asker's Rating:
• I really had a hard time picking a best answer here but went with girlieq3000 for giving the most interesting answer. Personally I think picking the best answer is great for somethings but sometime there really isn't a best answer just great information concerning the question asked.


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October 27, 2009 03:53 AM
Thanks so much! (i usually just let it go to voting when that happens :P)

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October 23, 2009 07:54 PM
I have and I recieved a 10 dollar penalty because my estimated gross from one of my jobs was a little off...not fun...

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October 23, 2009 09:20 PM
All that frustration for $10 penalty.

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October 23, 2009 10:59 PM
i havent personally been audited but my mom was... her biggest concern was not going to jail...

mike !

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October 24, 2009 01:39 AM
Yes, I was audited many years ago, and since it was for our business, there were many concerns since it was my first and only time.

I worried about whether I had the records to prove that we were correct, worried about what might happen if we didn't, knew we couldn't afford a stiff penalty of any kind, and couldn't even figure out why we were singled out for an audit.

Luckily I always kept very good records and would only claim items that were allowed to be claimed, and I came out of the audit owing nothing additional.

That was a big relief!!
Source(s):
personal experience


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October 24, 2009 06:30 AM
No, never. And I'm a business owner with a corporation. Each year, we sit down with our CPA and go over everything with a fine-toothed comb. What we're looking for is anything that might push the "red button." Keeping the corporation even marginally profitable with a tax professional who really knows his stuff makes all the difference. We do what we're told, and no IRS problems. Ever. And I want to keep it that way!

Tags: audit, cpa, irs, tax

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October 24, 2009 11:43 AM
I totally agree with you, Victoria. When I had a regular business, we, too, felt it was well worth hiring a CPA to do our tax return and were very insistent that everything be done properly, and even if a deduction could "possibly" be fine, we said, "NO, only declare what will be totally accepted."

So we, too, never had a problem with any business subsequent to the one I originally wrote about where we were determined to be "fine" when we were audited.

It's the only way to sleep well at night!!!

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October 24, 2009 04:31 PM
Thanks! You're right. Audits are hell. Time consuming and cause for anxiety. Another thing about using a really good tax professional it we know for a fact he saves his own "fee" each year by finding legit deductions for us and lowering the tax base!

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xds xds
 
October 24, 2009 04:41 PM
I personally have never been audited (I usually keep my hand on the pulse of my taxes) , However do know allot of people who have been in that rough situation. :(

No , Its not fun whatsoever .

One day you just get a visit from the "Tax man" , and in some cases even a "Tax Lady" believe it or not. In canada the laws are a little more strict when it comes to being audited. They freeze wages and benefits a little more cavalierly than in the US . It really sucks having something like that hanging over your head. And the tax agents can basically do whatever they like to you.

Some have even stepped outside the box to blackmail others.

The recent box office hit movie 7-Pounds is a little off in terms of how the internal revenue service in the US works in my humble opinion.

You have to be super careful so a audit doesn't bight you in the proverbial but after you file.

Here's to hopen it never happens to you.

Kind Regards,
@XDS
Source(s):
Neighbors & family who HAVE been audited.


Tags: audits, irs, tax, taxes

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xds xds
 
October 24, 2009 09:29 PM
scuse me that link should have been seven-pounds

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October 24, 2009 06:53 PM
I have never been personally audited but my company has. My biggest concern when there is a tax audit (regardless whether it is IRS or anything else), is to make sure that I have all the documentation to prove what I have reported. If you fail to do this, you are in for a lot of trouble. So make sure that when filling for your return, make sure that there are no gray areas, and if you do, have a decent excuse or reason to tell the audit guy:) That's it

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