Incorrectly filing your taxes can lead to paying thousands of dollars to the IRS later. The IRS audits one million tax returns each year, and if you’re earning over $100,000 a year or claiming no income, you’re at an increased chance of auditing. Even if you’re not in those groups, you still have a chance of being audited.

During the auditing process, the IRS will come up with the amount you underpaid. Unless you have the documents to prove your deductions and earnings, you will not only need to pay the IRS the underpayment amount but also the penalty fee.

Penalty fees are hefty. In most cases, taxpayers will have to pay 20% of their underpayment as a penalty. If the IRS regards the underpayment as fraudulent, the penalty could be 40% of the underpayment.

Not paying taxes isn’t the way out of it. Tax evasion is a felony, and could land you in prison for five years and have to pay $250,000 if you’re an individual or $500,000 if you’re the owner of a corporation.

The U.S. Government depends on the income that comes from employment taxes to fund many initiatives. It’s your right as a U.S. citizen to pay taxes to help run this country.

Why People Get Audited

Tax returns that get audited have red flags that make IRS officers take a closer look.

• Math doesn’t make sense: If you make $75,000 a year and only pay $1,000 in taxes, something is wrong.
• Failing to report some income: When an employer or client submitted your earnings to the IRS, and you don’t, that triggers them to look closer at it.
• Claiming too many charitable donations: If you make $50,000 a year and you claim $10,000 in charitable contributions, that’s suspicious.
• Deducting too many losses on a Schedule C: This is for self-employed individuals who try to claim they have missed out on payments from clients as deductions. Too many of them will make it look like your business is failing.
• Deducting too many work expenses: All of those dinners, trips, and even vehicle purchases are not going to look like work-related expenses when they total tens of thousands of dollars.
• Claiming a home office deduction: Unless the home office is ONLY used for work, it can’t be deducted. As soon as the IRS sees it, they question if it’s used for only work.
• Using round numbers: Most people are not earning exactly $75,000, and if they claim that, the IRS wonders why it’s rounded.

The IRS knows how people get out of paying taxes, so they can quickly look over a tax return and know if something isn’t right. They do this job day in and day out, so trying to put one over them is not easy.

How Licensed Professionals for Online Tax Filing Can Help

Ninety percent of people file their taxes online. They either do it themselves, or they have their tax preparer do it. In any case, mailing tax returns is nearly a thing of the past.

Since most taxpayers file online, it makes sense to look online for tax preparation help. There’s no reason for anyone to have to go into a tax office these days to have their taxes prepared and filed when you can sit comfortably in your home and have everything you need available for the filing.

While many people prefer to file their taxes with the use of online tax preparation tools, it’s important to know they are not audit-proof. Just because you answer all the questions and enter all the information, you won’t get audited. Many people answer the question incorrectly because they don’t understand the questions asked. Inputting the wrong numbers in the wrong spots is also a common mistake. All of this leads to incorrect return or payment amounts.

A licensed tax professional can make sure all the questions are answered correctly for you. The tax expert can also make sure the numbers match up to where they need to go on the online forms for accurate results. These aren’t the only reasons to hire an online tax professional to do your taxes, though.

Reasons to Use a Licensed Online Tax Professional

• You may not be claiming as much as you should, which means you end up paying more than you should.
• You may not be deducting as much as you should, which you end up paying more than you should.
• Tax laws change every year. Knowing what has changed can help you get more of a return or pay less to the IRS.
• The tax accountant can give you advice on making better tax-saving decisions.
• It gives you peace of mind that your taxes are correct, so you’re less likely to get audited.

The Fee for Tax Preparation

Most people do not use a professional tax accountant because they don’t want to pay the fee, especially when they have to pay the government as well. However, the average fee is about $250, and that is well worth the time saved by using a professional. You can also make up the cost of the fee by saving money on how much you’re required to pay the IRS or how much you will receive from over payment.

Why HQ Tax & Financial for Online Tax Filing Help

If you want to make sure your taxes are done correctly, who else could be better than a Licensed IRS Enrolled Agent and Professional Tax Practitioner? It’s practically like having the IRS do your taxes for you. Hassan Abbas, EA – the operation and owner of HQ Tax & Financial – has been in the tax and accounting profession for more than eight years, and he has saved his clients from paying hundreds of dollars and helped them receive more on returns.

This is a testimonial from one of Hassan’s many clients:

I know nothing about taxes besides the fact that I have to file. I called EZTAXEZ (Hassan) and got my prior years taxes done. He prepared my returns, and explained it to me in a way that I could understand. I would recommend giving EZTAXEZ a call if you have any tax needs. Their staff is young and motivated. Great service, great experience, and I will be coming back next January!

Hassan Abbas, EA works alongside John McCarthy, CPA who is a Senior Tax & IRS Audit Consultant. Gary knows audits and what to do to reduce the likelihood of getting audited. His experience has helped people through the auditing process for past returns and helped clients feel better about their potential of becoming audited, especially for people who own a business.

One of McCarthy’s clients had this to say about him:

I waited until last minute to do my taxes. I was recommended to EZTaxez by my friend and I’m so glad I chose it. I went on the website and I was contacted immediately. The customer service was amazing, they answered all of my questions and helped me get my taxes in on time.

The team at HQ Tax & Financial is made up of IRS Enrolled Agents who have extensive experience preparing individual and business income tax returns for Federal and all 50 states in the USA. Contact the team now for help with filing your taxes online at 615-398-2939.

Source: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/irs-audits