Leading Tax Attorney Steven Goldburd Reveals Common Reasons Why the IRS Will Audit You – New York, NY

Top New York tax attorney Steven Goldburd, partner at Goldburd McCone Attorneys in New York, NY, outlines the main reasons why taxpayers will get audited by the IRS . For more information please visit www.goldburdmccone.com

New York, NY, United States – May 3, 2019 /MM-REB/ —

In a recent interview, top New York tax attorney Steven Goldburd, partner at Goldburd McCone Attorneys in New York, NY, revealed 7 reasons why the IRS will audit taxpayers.

For more information please visit https://www.goldburdmccone.com

When asked to comment, Goldburd stated, “Just mentioning the words ‘tax audit’ is enough to instill fear into most Americans. But the IRS often chooses whom to audit based on activity they deem is suspicious.”

One of the biggest reasons for the IRS to choose to audit is if someone reported only part of their income.

“Many people have side jobs apart from their main source of income but fail to report it on their taxes. Let’s say that you are working a couple hours a week as a freelance writer for a publication mill. Not reporting that income will create a discrepancy as the mill has already sent their tax information to the IRS. This means that the tax authorities are already aware you aren’t claiming that income,” he said.

Reporting too much in charitable donations also increases the likelihood of an IRS audit.

“Because significant charitable donations is an easy way to depress your taxable income, many taxpayers opt to slip in inflated donation amounts, or fictitious ones altogether. This is foolhardy plan as the IRS is very wise to the “simplicity” that Taxpayers perceive in manipulating these amounts, and they investigate/audit inflated donations quite heavily and regularly. A good rule of thumb is to be sure to only claim a donation on your tax return if you have the physical and proper documentation to prove it,” Goldburd added.

Perfect round or even figures on tax returns, especially with expenses, can be perceived as falsely manufactured and therefore suspicious.

“Chances are that numbers – particularly when it comes to expense and deductions – will not be easily rounded to the nearest hundred. For instance, let’s say you purchased a desktop computer for a home office that cost $995.35. When reporting this as a deductible expense, round it to $995 instead of jumping to $1,000,” he explained. “One off amounts obviously can pass muster, but if you return looks to be in perfect lockstep zeroed amounts, it will raise a red flag” he continued.

That said, Goldburd explained, claiming a home office deduction, almost automatically will increases scrutiny of a return.

When asked to elaborate, he said, “Unfortunately, many taxpayers have abused the home office deduction. You have to actually calculate what percentage of your house is used exclusively for work. You cannot, for instance, claim a living room as a home office when they might have used the room to occasionally answer work-related calls,” he said.

Like overinflated charitable deductions, significant losses on a Schedule C, certainly for consistent years, will invite the IRS to take a second look a return, says Goldburd.

Schedule C is a form used by taxpayers to declare self-employment income and expenses (“business owners”).

“The IRS perceives large and consistent losses reported on Schedule C as someone either claiming improper or personal expenses, or simple fabrication to depress taxable income. “Claiming a family trip as a business expense, because you might have taken one meeting, will wither under audit” he commented.

Related to this, Goldburd says, frivolous work-related expenses is also likely to attract attention.

When asked to explain, Goldburd said, “To claim a business deduction, it must be ordinary and necessary to complete your work duties. So while a photographer can claim camera equipment as a business deduction, a doctor who takes photos as a hobby cannot.”

Filing an inaccurate claim due to a math mistake could also increase the chances of being flagged by the IRS.

“It’s crucial to double and triple check all the numbers on your tax form. The IRS doesn’t care whether or not a calculating error was made intentionally or not – the result is the same, and you’ll be audited and fined nonetheless, and once they are in your life, even for a minor infraction, it raises the chances that they will find more to complain about.”

Source: http://RecommendedExperts.biz

Contact Info:
Name: Steven Goldburd
Organization: Goldburd McCone LLP
Address: 42 W 38th St #901, New York, NY 10018, USA
Phone: 212-302-9400
Website: https://www.goldburdmccone.com

Source: MM-REB

Release ID: 508520