Ask if the politicians have been audited like Pelosi and McConnell etc. Too many make 10’s of millions in short order.
I got audited twice. Once for my business. Once for crypto trading.
The business audit was a breeze. It ended up costing me a few hundred dollars because my mileage was not as detailed as they like. The agent was a nice guy. We knew people in common from my college days. It took a couple of months and maybe 20-30 hours of my time over that period.
The crypto audit was a nightmare because they didn’t know what they were doing. This was in 2019 for 2017 trades. I had very good records. But they had changed rules in 2017 and I was “behind.” That cost me a bunch of money.
At the start of the crypto audit I had to explain how stuff worked to the agent. The audit took almost four years to complete. Obviously it wasn’t “full time”, but that crap hanging over your head is stressful.
My advice to anyone getting the notice is to call them and find out what the issue is. They will generally be very specific and will tell you what they have accepted and what is in question. Don’t admit to anything up front.
If you have screwed up, figure it out and settle up as fast as you can. Do not lie to the IRS. Know the rules. I got into a debate about the cost basis calculation. They wanted to use one, I used another. One would have cost me much more than the other. The IRS will ALWAYS assume the basis that will garner them the highest tax.
One the whole, the people I dealt with were very nice. The never threatened. They never dismissed my reasoning. They always answered my questions. Their demeanor was always professional. As you got to know them, you could get stories of some of their nightmare clients (not specifics, but in general.). Yikes…I must have been a dream for them.
Get organized. Have documentation for everything before you enter it. Keep notes about “why” you are doing what you are doing.
I used to get audited every year when I was in the corporate world. I loved the auditors because they would tell me where I could make my division operate better. It never “scared” me. But it IS a stress inducing pain the butt.