10 ways to trigger IRS attention

CBS Market Watch ^ | 8:03 AM ET Feb. 19, 2002 | By Tracy Byrnes

[Rubber Duckie]

Notice the new IRSS symbol-- the vulture.

[anniegetyourgun]

We did #2 (donations too high for their tastes) and triggered an audit last year. I just hope we aren't now on a "list" to return to for years to come.

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

This article is as useful as the 'seasonal' advice you always get on your local news such as: 'drink lots of fluids' during a heat wave or 'dress in several layers' on a chilly day. Extremely useful.

[ikka]

Taking the home office deduction may entice the IRS only because some taxpayers claim it erroneously. We've discussed this issue before see story, but as a recap, to claim a home office deduction your home office must be used solely for work purposes. That means the room can't double as the kids' playroom.Also, you can't have an office anywhere else. So if you're a workaholic who likes to bring work home, you can't claim the home office deduction.

Not true. There was a case where a violinist was able to deduct part of her rent while living in a studio apartment.

[freefly]

fyi

[Blood of Tyrants]

#8 is easy to avoid. Just take your refund, divide by the number of pay periods you have in a year, and have $5 less than that taken out of your with holding. That way you get a "pay raise" every paycheck".

[bvw]

Gee, there is a big big difference between a letter about a math error or typo and an audit. My experience with simple errors is they are easily and quickly fixed right over the phone.

[jgorris]

If you happen to be getting an exceptionally large refund, don't expect Uncle Sam to freely give up his money. He's going to check and double check to make sure you really deserve all that cash back.

Boy, with a tax "advisor" with this point of view, who needs enemies.

[bvw]

That home office deduction has been an area of IRS changes every year -- I used to take it -- but now avoid it for all the hassle it involves, if not the risk. Damn the income tax code!

[Rubber Duckie]

I've heard reliable estimates that our GNP could beincreased by around 5% just by scrapping most of the IRS code, taking 80% of the people off the filing requirements and using a relatively flat set of tax rates with realistic deductions for personal, children, etc.

F'rinstance, if getting yourself knocked up and having a kid out of wedlock gets you an extra $400 per month in welfare, having a kid legitimately should get you at least as much or more in tax deductions --- yes, even if you make $250,000 per year.

[diefree]

Whenever I hear the stupid nanny advice from the TV, as though we are all 3 years old, I want to kick it in. How about when the weather's bad and they tell you not to go out if you don't have to?

[Cowgirl]

Yes, we should have a whole thread on nanny government's info commercials.

[Taxman]

The income tax is a slave tax. As the above article clearly demostrates, as long as we slaves follow the rules, we will not get whipped. And the rules are intentionally obscure -- who among us can possibly file an income tax return and believe they have followed all of the rules?

If you are as mad as I am about the very existence of this evil, Marxist inspired Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and the corrupt agency which selectively enforces it (and enslaves us all), please consider becoming an active supporter of the National Retail Sales Tax (NRST).

The two NRST bills introduced in this Congress(H.R. 2525 and H.R. 2717) will replace the income tax with a NRST and abolish the IRS. Consider carefully what that would mean in terms of restoring a significant measure of your personal and economic FReedom.

There are many other benefits to be realized from the NRST, but gaining the personal FReedom to work, save and invest without the greedy hand of the government "Massa" stealing the fruits of one's labor, IMHO, is the most significant.

Just as Lincoln freed the slave during the Civil War, we are working to free the slaves (US!) in the 21st Century.

We Americans are faced with a stark problem: we either destroy the IRC/IRS monster or the IRC/IRS monster will continue to enslave and eventually destroy us.

“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”
[Thomas Jefferson, letter to Benjamin Rush, 1800.]

Click here to help us scrap the Code, scrap the IRS and abolish the VLWC!

We will never be a truly FRee people so long as we have the income tax and the IRS.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I office out of my home but don't deduct. No audit. Its cheaper in the long run.

[donozark]

I'm not a member of NRST, however, I am a member of the National Taxpayers Union. NTU.org. My understanding is they have endorsed the NRST after a poll of members. It is definetly time for a change!!!!!!

[eno_]

Get a good accountant and don't be afraid, otherwise you are leaving money on the table. "Audits" are 99% of the time "show us a reciept" or "show us a letter from your work requiring you to have a home office." The anal probe audits are randomly selected - you can't do anything to avoid them. The only people really under the microscope are cash businesses.

[sam_paine]

Just take your refund, divide by the number of pay periods you have in a year, and have $5 less than that taken out of your with holding. That way you get a "pay raise" every paycheck".

Unless your a single guy and start a new job after you've already paid the max. FICA tax in a year. You start paying it again on the new job and can end up with a forced huge refund no matter what you submit for exemptions.

[VOA]

bump

[Cultural Jihad]

Can anyone expand on item #1? Most of us got a tax refund last year. Was there something I missed in this year's 1040 about that?

[anniegetyourgun]

TRY THIS.