A tax audit

[DeclinetoState]

This afternoon, my wife and I have to visit the IRS for an audit of our 2001 Federal Return. The problem is that they want receipts for Schedule C, a lot of items for which one probably doesn't customarily keep a lot of receipts (we didn't).

I'll let you know what happens.

[Beowulf]

Good luck. I've only heard the horror stories of the IRS handing folks a big bill without care. Let's hope it's true that the IRS now "friendlier."

[Rink]

yah friendlier towards Democrats not towards Conservatives.

if you remember Clinton used the IRS against his enemies.

[Beowulf]

My point exactly, Rink. Wow!! Been awhile since we agreed on something.

[Rink]

LOL yip heh it has hehe

[DeclinetoState]

The preliminary outcome is that we owe about $12,000, including interest and penalties. We're going to try to find some old receipts and other records, and claim some deductions that we forgot (or never even realized) we were able to take, and get the bill down.

As high as the cost of living in in this neck of the woods, living even a modest yet debt-free lifestyle requires an income that puts you in a "rich" bracket.

[Beowulf]

EW!!! It figures. The IRS can only hand you a bill and never say, "guess you were OK all along."

Sorry about all this.

[FatherTime]

Well, the IRS is not completely full of jerks.

Take a swing on over to www.hash.com. (http://www.hash.com.) (3D software, not drugs)

Martin Hash gets auditted so frequently (cause of his last name) that he has a chair in his office just for the IRS agents.

About 1 out of 4 IRS agents are so impressed by his software (and at only $300) that they buy a copy as they head out the door.

"Martin, I'll put in a good word for you, but, its your name that gets flagged each year by the DEA".

Remember, computers are not flawless. Garbage in, garbage out. which is why Martin Hash gets a visit so regularly. (the IRS and DEA flag folks with drug related biz names all the time)

My wife had to file a schedule C this year. Thank God we decided to start using TaxCutPro 2 years ago. All out files are exact and we keep a PDF copy of them on an off-site web resource.

Just a tip...use good tax software or an accountant.

-FT