Compliance

How to avoid an IRS audit — from an ex-auditor

I spent years on the other side of the desk, reviewing work the way the IRS does. Most audit risk isn't bad luck — it's patterns, and patterns can be fixed.

By Tiffany Hill Moore, Founder & former auditor · Updated July 2026

What actually draws scrutiny

Returns get flagged when the numbers don't fit the life: income that can't support the household, round-number expenses, credits claimed without the underlying facts, mismatches with W-2s and 1099s the IRS already has. And preparers get flagged as preparers when the same aggressive patterns show up across their whole book. You're not just managing one return's risk — you're managing your signature's reputation.

Documentation habits that protect you

• Verify identity and every income document — no returns from screenshots and promises
• Keep due-diligence records for every credit you claim, contemporaneously
• Maintain consistent workpapers — same structure, every client, every year
• Put a second set of eyes on every return before it transmits
• Save your client communications — what you asked, what they answered

The mistakes I see most

Taking a client's word for expenses no one wrote down. Copying last year's return forward without asking what changed. Claiming credits because the software allowed it rather than because the facts supported it. Filing under deadline pressure without review. None of these feel like fraud in the moment — all of them read the same way in an examination file.

Build a review process, not a rabbit's foot

The single biggest risk reducer is a review gate: every return checked against a written standard by someone other than the person who prepared it, before it transmits. That's how large firms protect themselves, and it's exactly what most small offices skip. It's also the core of how The Tax Wealth Lab operates — a former Big 4 auditor reviews every partner return within 24–36 hours, all season. Zero percent audit rate isn't luck. It's process.

Frequently asked questions

What triggers an IRS audit?

Common triggers include income/expense patterns that don't fit reported income, mismatches with documents the IRS already holds, unsupported credits, and repeated aggressive patterns across a preparer's client base.

How can tax preparers reduce audit risk?

Verify source documents, keep contemporaneous due-diligence records, use consistent workpapers, and put every return through a second-person review before it transmits.

What records should tax preparers keep?

Copies of returns, the source documents and verification notes behind them, due-diligence worksheets for credits, and client communications — organized the same way for every file, retained per IRS requirements.