With April right around the corner and tax returns needing to be filed not far behind, here are some good articles that can hopefully help you from being audited. Even though the IRS audits only about 1% of all tax returns, who wants to be part of that 1% club - not me!

This Kiplingers article titled IRS Audit Red Flags asks a question we all wonder about - why some tax returns are audited by the IRS while most are ignored. Apparently the IRS audits only about 1% of all individual tax returns annually because they don't have the manpower or resources to examine each and every tax return filed during a year. So even though the odds are pretty low that your return will be picked for an audit, you'll still want to be prepared.

And part of being prepared is being accurate. Do you know the biggest mistakes taxpayers make on their tax returns?  At or near the top of the “oops” list is either forgetting to enter their Social Security number at the top of the tax form - or making a mistake when entering it. You can view The Most-Overlooked Tax Deductions here as a slide show.

And whether you are a large or small business, how about a comprehensive A-Z list for what's tax deductable? Everything from pension and profit sharing plans to new markets tax credit - it's all here in Business Expense Tax Deductions

In addition to being a fee-only financial planner, my background is in tax accounting, so after you read this article, if you have any further questions - shoot me an e-mail or give a call.