What Are Tax Audits?

A tax audit is a review of your tax return by the IRS to verify that you correctly reported your income and deductions.

The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) can decide to make a tax audit to examine your tax return a little more closely and verify that you reported your income and claimed your deductions correctly.

“Generally, your tax return is chosen for audit when something on your return is out of the ordinary,” says experienced certified pubic accountant, Jim Liggett CPA.


The IRS has three main types of audits: the mail audit, the office audit, and the field audit.

Here, Liggett CPA will explain more in depth these types.

Audit by mail 

If the IRS decides to conduct any type of audit, you will always receive a mail notification. The simplest type of IRS review is the audit by mail and does not require you to meet with an auditor in person.

Liggett CPA indicates that generaly, an additional documentation can be requested by the IRS to verify several of the items you included on your tax return.

Office audit

According to Liggett CPA, in the case of an office audit, you are required to go to a local IRS office.

Usually, these audits include questioning by an audit officer about the information in your return.

Liggett CPA also specifies that you can be asked to bring specific information to an audit office. This information may include books and records for your business, your bank statements, and personal receipts.

The professional who is specialized in providing tax, audit and accounting services to companies indicates that you have the right to bring an accountant or attorney to represent you at these meetings.

Field audit

The field audit is the most comprehensive review that the IRS conducts. The audit will be conducted at your home or workplace by an IRS agent. Field audit are generally conducted when more than one deduction or two are being examined by the IRS.

This very comprehensive audit usually will cover many, if not all, of the items on your tax return.

The possible results of an audit

Jim Liggett CPA shares that there are three possible results of an IRS audit:

The IRS is satisfied with the explanations and the documentation you have provided and will not require from you to change anything on your tax return.

The IRS proposes changes to your tax return. You can accept the changes and sign a review report or other form provided by the IRS and establish some type of payment agreement.

The IRS proposes changes to your tax return and you do not accept the changes. Then, you can request a meeting with an IRS administrator to further examine your case, or you can request a formal appeals meeting.