Avoiding a tax audit

The fear of audit keeps many taxpayers from claiming excessive deductions or credits. Of course, none of us wants to pay more tax than we have to, and the Supreme Court has affirmed our right to try to minimize our taxes:

"The legal right of a taxpayer to decrease the amount of what otherwise would be his taxes, or altogether avoid them, by means which the law permits, cannot be doubted." (US Supreme Court, Gregory v. Helvering, 55 S Ct. 266, 1/7/1935)

So while minimizing our taxes, how can we also minimize our risk of audit?

Although there's no bullet-proof formula to avoid audit, there are some things to watch out for, such as excessive deductions for charitable contributions. For more suggestions, please visit the complete article.