- Know the tax law very well and how to properly report your activity. - Understand the IRS's current "hot buttons" or "red flags." - Offer an audit defense plan.

HERE ARE FOUR (4) QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR TAX PREPARER IN REGARDS TO REDUCING AUDIT RISK TO DETERMINE IF IT'S A GOOD FIT:

Q1: How many audits have you been through and what triggered the audit? A: The most important part of this question is what triggered the audit. If it was triggered by how something was reported, then that may be something the tax preparer had control over (and may be a bad sign for you).

Q2: What was the outcome of the audits you have been through? A: A return can be randomly selected for audit or selected because of a certain activity (even though it was reported correctly). So it's important to understand the outcome of the audits. Was additional tax assessed or were there no changes? Additional tax may indicate that something was not reported properly.

Q3: Do you offer an audit defense plan? A: Tax preparers that are confident in their work will offer an "insurance" program that covers their professional fees to handle your audit if your return is selected for audit.

Q4: What is your tax return review process? A: Although tax returns can be selected randomly for audit, many are selected due to how items are reported on the tax return. Tax preparers who are focused on reducing audit risk will have a review process that includes another tax preparer reviewing your return solely for accuracy of reporting.

Be selective with the tax preparer you put on your team. The average savings I find for my clients is over $90,000! Your tax preparer makes a difference!

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