Tax Return - Don T Get Audited The Irs's Dirty Dozen Red Flags - Dailyfinance

By Joy Taylor, assistant editor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter Ever wonder why some tax returns get intense scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service while most are ignored? The agency doesn't have enough personnel and resources to examine each and every tax return filed during a year it audits only slightly more than 1% of all individual returns annually.

So the odds are pretty low that your return will be picked for review. And, of course, the only reason filers should worry about an audit is if they are fudging on their taxes. But even if you have nothing to hide, an audit is no picnic.

Here are 12 red flags that could increase your chances of drawing some unwanted attention:

Making Too Much Money

Failing to Report All Taxable Income

Taking Large Charitable Deductions

Claiming the Home Office Deduction

Claiming Rental Losses

Deducting Business Meals, Travel and Entertainment

Claiming 100% Business Use of a Vehicle

Writing off a Loss for a Hobby Activity

Running a Cash Business

Failing to Report a Foreign Bank Account

Engaging in Currency Transactions

Taking Higher-than-Average Deductions

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