{"id":35641,"date":"2018-03-12T08:21:43","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T13:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?post_type=newsroom&p=35641"},"modified":"2023-03-01T13:33:54","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T19:33:54","slug":"irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think","status":"publish","type":"newsroom","link":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/","title":{"rendered":"IRS more likely to question returns than taxpayers think"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h2>\n

IRS more than six times more likely to challenge returns than commonly reported<\/h2>\n

Every year, the IRS publishes a disarmingly low audit rate of one out of 143 (0.7 percent), for a total of a little more than a million taxpayers who get audited each year. But that little factoid is cold comfort to the millions of taxpayers who face \u201cautomated audits\u201d each year. H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) advises taxpayers that, in reality, they have a one out of 23 chance of the IRS challenging some aspect of their return, a six-fold increase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IRS has technology that makes it easier and more efficient for the IRS to challenge tax returns,\u201d said Jim Buttonow, director of H&R Block\u2019s Tax Audit and Notice Services<\/a>. \u201cThe IRS has automated matching programs and filters to reach many more taxpayers than it could with traditional audits.\u201d<\/p>\n

IRS notices feel like audits to taxpayers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 2011, the IRS Taxpayer Advocate reported that the IRS was reaching more taxpayers with automated systems. That year, the IRS conducted 1.56 million audits of individuals, but the IRS questioned more than 11 million additional tax returns using \u201cautomated audits.\u201d In 2018, IRS systems continue to use automation to question returns.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnically, these aren\u2019t audits. But that doesn\u2019t really matter, because they feel like audits to most people when they get a letter from the IRS asking questions about their return,\u201d said Buttonow. \u201cAnd they act like audits in that you may have to submit additional information to the IRS, change your return, even pay more taxes or face penalties.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IRS questions many more returns than official audit rate shows<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With automated processes and earlier deadlines for employers and other payers to submit information reporting documents to the IRS, the IRS can automatically match taxpayers\u2019 returns against Forms 1099 and W-2. When there\u2019s a mismatch (commonly, when taxpayers leave income off their returns), the IRS sends a notice asking for explanation. In 2016, the IRS conducted a little over a million audits on individuals \u2013 and sent 3.5 times as many underreporting inquiries<\/a> (known by the IRS letter called the \u201cmatching\u201d or \u201cCP2000\u201d notice).<\/p>\n

\u201cCP2000 notices don\u2019t ask you for records to prove your income, deductions or credits. But they do propose additional taxes, penalties, and interest on your filed tax return,\u201d said Buttonow. \u201cTo a taxpayer, that\u2019s an audit. \u2018Math error authority\u2019 is another way for the IRS to screen your return for missing information or forms, or detect certain errors in some tax credit claims and dependent deductions. Then, it\u2019s your job to make sure the IRS is correct<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be fooled by the IRS audit rate<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The official audit rate can be misleading because the IRS has other ways to contact many more taxpayers to verify the accuracy of their returns and assess additional taxes, penalties and interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best move is to prepare a complete and accurate return. But if the IRS has already contacted you about your return, you\u2019ll need to take action. Educate yourself on what to do and how to handle your audit<\/a> or notice, and then take the appropriate steps with the IRS before the deadline passes<\/a>,\u201d said Buttonow.<\/p>\n

Taxpayers can get more information about their issue and get expert help at the H&R Block Tax Audit & Tax Notice Services<\/a> page, or find a tax pro who can help respond to a notice or audit by calling 1-855-536-6504.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

About H&R Block<\/strong><\/h3>\n

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) is a global consumer tax services provider. Tax return preparation<\/a> services are provided by professional tax preparers in approximately 12,000 company-owned and franchise retail tax offices<\/a> worldwide, and through H&R Block tax software products<\/a> for the DIY consumer. H&R Block also offers adjacent Tax Plus products and services. In fiscal 2017, H&R Block had annual revenues of over $3 billion with 23 million tax returns prepared worldwide. For more information, visit the H&R Block Newsroom<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IRS more than six times more likely to challenge returns than commonly reported <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35644,"menu_order":0,"template":"","tags":[19283,21870],"news-categories":[23363,23364],"class_list":["post-35641","newsroom","type-newsroom","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-corporate-news","tag-financial-confidence","news-categories-irs","news-categories-audits-and-tax-notices"],"acf":{"post_rest_thumbnail_alt_id":null},"yoast_head":"IRS more likely to question returns | H&R Block Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"H&R Block advises taxpayers that they have a one out of 23 chance of the IRS challenging some aspect of their return, a six-fold increase.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IRS more likely to question returns than taxpayers think\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"H&R Block advises taxpayers that they have a one out of 23 chance of the IRS challenging some aspect of their return, a six-fold increase.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"H&R Block\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-01T19:33:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Audits-Newsroom-Image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/newsroom\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/newsroom\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\\\/\",\"name\":\"IRS more likely to question returns | H&R Block Newsroom\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/newsroom\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/newsroom\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Audits-Newsroom-Image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-12T13:21:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-01T19:33:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"H&R Block advises taxpayers that they have a one out of 23 chance of the IRS challenging some aspect of their return, a six-fold increase.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/newsroom\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/newsroom\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/newsroom\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Audits-Newsroom-Image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Audits-Newsroom-Image.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/newsroom\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Newsroom Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/newsroom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"IRS more likely to question returns than taxpayers think\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"H&R Block\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"IRS more likely to question returns | H&R Block Newsroom","description":"H&R Block advises taxpayers that they have a one out of 23 chance of the IRS challenging some aspect of their return, a six-fold increase.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"IRS more likely to question returns than taxpayers think","og_description":"H&R Block advises taxpayers that they have a one out of 23 chance of the IRS challenging some aspect of their return, a six-fold increase.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/","og_site_name":"H&R Block","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock","article_modified_time":"2023-03-01T19:33:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Audits-Newsroom-Image.jpg","width":1080,"height":675,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@hrblock","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/","name":"IRS more likely to question returns | H&R Block Newsroom","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Audits-Newsroom-Image.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-12T13:21:43+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-01T19:33:54+00:00","description":"H&R Block advises taxpayers that they have a one out of 23 chance of the IRS challenging some aspect of their return, a six-fold increase.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Audits-Newsroom-Image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Audits-Newsroom-Image.jpg","width":1080,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/irs-more-likely-to-question-returns-than-taxpayers-think\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Newsroom Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"IRS more likely to question returns than taxpayers think"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/","name":"H&R Block","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsroom\/35641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsroom"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/newsroom"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsroom\/35641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35641"},{"taxonomy":"news-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-categories?post=35641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}