who usually gets audited, and how much paperwork do u need?

Question

What kind of things do they check?

Answer 1

Is your business getting audited? Is it your taxes? Either or, you will need ALL of your paperwork to account for everything.
You should save your paperwork for at least 7 years incase you get audited. Organize it for each year and store it. That way you'll have everything together if you do get audited in the future.

Answer 2

IRS usually goes back 3 years unless there is something that raises a red flag. Auditing: Just a guess, but I think people who file electronically are audited less because there are fewer math mistakes for them to check. Things that cause checks: amounts either more or less than the average: home office deductions; charitible contributions, stock transactions. If you can get your hands on a Turbo Tax (probably others, but that's what I use), when you have completed your forms it goes through and flags anything that might cause the IRS to question your return. Even if you get an old TT and put your last return into it, you can find out what kinds of things the IRS looks for.

Answer 3

The letter you get will probably tell you what particular area of your return is being audited. There are audits where every single item on the return is checked, but most focus on just a particular area or items.

Answer 4

Anyone can be audited. Most audits are only interested on one or two items on your return. You only need to supply documentation for the items that he IRS specifically asks for.