Risk of tax audit
originally posted: 11/22/2006 reposted: 2/18/2011 This post has not been recently reviewed or revised by the author and may be out of date. If in doubt, please send a new question or ask for an update.
Q: What is the percentage chance of being audited by the IRS?
A: The chances are less than 1 in 100, assuming there are no problems with the return that would create a machine-generated audit (like listing the wrong social security number). The IRS selects about 1.5% of tax returns for filers with income above $100,000 these tax returns for audit. Most audits are handled entirely by mail and a large number of these audits are for failure to file a specific type of income tax return (for example, a corporation with reported income suddenly stops filing a tax return). The chances of a face-to-face audit are actually much less than 1%. Taxpayers with incomes less than $100,000 face even lower chance of an audit. The best way to protect from an audit is to have your tax return reviewed by a tax adviser other than the person who prepared the return. OnlineAdviser offers this service for a flat $150 that includes a written report of the audit findings and a listing of any tax-saving strategies that might not have been taken.
Summary
More resources:
OnlineAdviser service details