By Robert Loe | Published: May 19, 2010 – 1:16 pm

by Robert Loe and Chelsea Lee Minogue

As careful and meticulous as you might be in preparing your income tax return, you may find yourself shocked and dismayed to discover an audit notice from the IRS in your mailbox. In fact, just over 1% of all individual income tax return filers faced this situation in 2009. While an audit may at first seem like the end of the world, knowing what to expect and how to prepare can help ease some of the anxiety that comes with being audited.

Many audits may be resolved completely by mail, without any face-to-face interaction with an IRS agent. Referred to as correspondence audits, these comprised 77% of all audits of individual income tax returns performed by the IRS in 2009. The other 23% of audits were field audits, which involve meeting an IRS agent at your home, place of business, or other location deemed appropriate. The following tips will help in getting ready for either type of audit. (more…)

Filed under: Getting Organized

By Robert Loe | Published: January 11, 2010 – 9:30 pm

1. Set up a file folder to retain tax-related documents that you accumulate during the year.

2. Keep your 2009 income tax return in a safe location so it may be easily retrieved if you need it during the year.

3. Keep track of business, charitable, and medical mileage by using a logbook.

4. If you buy, sell, or refinance any real estate during the year, keep a copy of the closing statement, (HUD 1 statement, settlement statement) in your tax file.

5. If you make non-cash (thrift shop) charitable contributions, keep a record of the date, name of the charity, specific items, amount of contribution and how the value was determined. Please refer to IRS Publication 561 for details on how to determine the value of non-cash items donated to charity.

Read More

Filed under: Getting Organized