Via Ancaps: Tax audits: 78% are done by mail, not in person

You're now almost four times as likely to conduct your tax audit by mail, as you are to sit down with the tax man.

Of the more than 1.6 million Americans who were slapped with audits last year, 78% dealt with correspondence audits, while only 22% were asked to come in for an in-person examination.

That is a 13% rise in audits-by-mail from 2009, and a 93% jump compared to 2003. In 2000, the chances of getting a correspondence audit were less than 2 to 1.

"When people think of audits, they think of being in an office and going to war with someone from the IRS," said Thomas Cooke, a professor of accounting and business law at Georgetown University. "Years ago you could almost guarantee you would have to go in and see someone to do it, but this isn't the case anymore."

Why the shift? Because correspondence audits are cheaper for the IRS. Plus, Cooke said many people take action as soon as they get the audit notice in the mail, in hopes that it won't escalate to a visit from Uncle Sam.

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Via Ancaps: Tax audits: 78% are done by mail, not in person

Via Ancaps: Tax audits: 78% are done by mail, not in person

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