The idea of auditing sounds like some process happening in big companies only. Well, the arrival of the IRS to your home should scare you. However, a good preparation will help you to survive this encounter without going mad. Then you will have a chance to tell the story without becoming a lawyer.
Auditing is an attempt to understand whether your calculations correspond to the official ones. It is a fact-checking procedure and they look for errors and not for the evidence of some criminal activity. Most of them are innocent, so you don’t have to worry about anything.
First of all, gather all the receipts you have had during the year when you did your tax return. This step is important since IRS wants to see all the documents that you had while calculating your refund. If you bought a laptop for studying at the university, present the receipt of it. Any online log from Amazon or Apple Pay will do.
Try to sort out your documents as this step will save you some time. Create separate piles of your medical expenses, tuition fees, and bank statements. Your untidy shoebox filled with wrinkled papers will just confuse the auditor and make him think that you are afraid of something.
You will need also your bank statements for the certain period. Highlight all the transactions related to your earnings. Present your mileage logs if you are a driver of Uber or DoorDash. Normally, there is a special section in the application where you can download a summary.
If you cannot cope with it yourself, ask for help. The tax expert or certified public accountant knows how to communicate with the IRS. They are also aware of certain tricks concerning student expenses. The advice of these experts worth your peace of mind.
During communication with the IRS agent, be ready to answer only his questions. Revealing any extra information about your side job can be dangerous. Your silence will become your best friend in this case. Don’t forget to be polite and brief.
Remember that the IRS agent is a regular person who drinks coffee and experiences traffic jams like everyone else. Show your respect to them and they will return the same thing to you. Aggressive behavior leads to deeper checks of your documents.
Make copies of all the documents you give them. Never submit the originals since in case something happens, you will have a copy of it. Surely, you don’t want to face this problem.
It will be stressful, but it will not last forever. You will get out of this room alive. Life will go on and you will start earning money again. You’ve got this.