A friend of mine once said there are three things you can count on in life: death, taxes and the increasing cost of lift tickets. With April coming around the corner at a gallivanting pace, we thought it might be helpful to provide some tips on declarations this year as you prepare your taxes. Here is an interesting look at most commonly targeted occupations - known as the IRS "audit targets".
- Airline pilots and flight attendants, due to claiming travel expenses as deductions that are often not well documented;
- Executives and salespeople, due to high amounts of unreimbursed employee expenses that are again, often not well documented;
- Teachers and college professors who claim office-at-home deductions;
- Clergymen who show high amounts of income from non-church employment - the IRS may suspect a ministry scam
- Restaurant servers or cabbies, where tips are a large part of income, are likely to get a second look.
If you fall into one of the above categories, be careful of using a vague term to list your employment on the tax forms, such as "Transaction Coordinator" rather than "Salesperson". If your tax form is chosen for audit, it may just convince the agent you have something to hide. For more tips on how you can avoid an audit, contact Kathryn Pedersen for a referral on preferred tax specialists.
Article submitted by:
Kathryn Pedersen
Yampa Valley Bank
970-875-1609
kpedersen@yampavalleybank.com
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