As a result, audits will be fewer, but faster and probably harsher. The agency plans to examine just 1.18 percent of personal returns, about half what it was hoping to do last year, and agents have been warned to spend their time wisely. Examiners in one regional office are exhorted to cut their hours per return and meet ““goals’’ (never quotas) of $1,000 in assessed taxes for every audit hour.
What’s this got to do with you and the papers spread all over your dining-room table? You don’t want to make mistakes when you’re up against this impatient, cut-to-the-chase IRS. Here’s how to snare the latest tax breaks while avoiding trouble from an irritable agency that’s feeling under fire itself.
