# Ask the Guy Who Survived an IRS Audit \[edited title\]
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 22, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683 "2009-10-22T00:40:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/1 "2009-10-22T00:40:47Z")
I didn’t owe them money.
They seemed very interested in, and asked for documentation of how I had so any deductions and so little profit over the rental house. I explained about the Tenant From Hell.
There was an anxious moment when they claimed three CDs were interest bearing checking accounts.
I am particularly interested in why they want to know how much money I carry around, and what I consider my general health to be.
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### Author:  [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/2 "2009-10-22T01:22:15Z")
Wow, congrats!
Are there other threads on this (an Ask the… perhaps?) or is this the place to ask about the background (when you found out, what you did, how long it took, what the process was like, did you wear a funny hat, what triggered it, how detailed were they, etc.)?
Congrats congrats congrats – what a load off your shoulders!
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/3 "2009-10-22T01:34:46Z")
I didn’t do an “Ask the Guy Who Survived an IRS Audit” because that tends to piss off the Mods, and I’ve dealt with enought authority this week. 🙂
Ask away.
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### Author:  [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/4 "2009-10-22T01:43:21Z")
Interesting why they care how much money you walk around with. I typically travel where there are no ATMs and currently I have about $6K in various currencies (USD, CAD, NZD, AUD, AED, OMR, CZK, GBP, CHF, EUR, JPY, KRW, CNY, plus a few other weird ones) within 2 meters of me.
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/5 "2009-10-22T01:53:28Z")
Why do they ask about cash? “Everyone knows” only criminals carry around a lot of cash, and one way they nail criminals (in absence of prosecutable proof of murder and mayhem) is by nailing 'em on tax evasion charges: [Al Capone - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capone)
Clearly you’re a suspicious-looking mug 😉
Weird about the health.
And the CDs - why would it matter whether they’re interest-bearing checking or CDs? Either way you’ve got interest income, doesn’t matter the flavor of the account.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/6 "2009-10-22T01:56:08Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#):
>
> Interesting why they care how much money you walk around with.
I don’t know if that is standard or if it was connected with the CD’s I inherited from Mrs. Plant they thought were checking accounts. I presume checking accounts with several grand in them having no deposits and a few large withdrawals (to do things like pay my income tax 🙂 )would appear to be some form of money laundering.
If I were you, and if the IRS has predator drones, I would listen carefully for buzzing noises. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/7 "2009-10-22T01:56:48Z")
I guess everyone in the Third World is a criminal then since they almost all carry cash… there are no credit cards or cheques. Not sure how the IRS would take to my cash - I try to keep it under 10K (and always so when crossing borders), but at home, $4-8K is totally normal.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/8 "2009-10-22T02:01:01Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#):
>
> And the CDs - why would it matter whether they’re interest-bearing checking or CDs? Either way you’ve got interest income, doesn’t matter the flavor of the account.
I missed your post. See above; several grand of Mama’s money, no deposits. Some big withdrawals to pay income tax, insurance bills, repairs on the rent house, etc. may appear to be money laundering if they were checking accounts.
More siply, I declared the CD interest, but (they thought) not some checking account interest.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/9 "2009-10-22T02:20:04Z")
Have you guys noticed that the M key on this laptop doesn’t work well?
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/10 "2009-10-22T02:27:47Z")
The cash? It’s just in case they calculate unreported income using a Cash T or some other indirect method. In other words, if they can show you spent a lot more than you earned, thus you must have earned more\*. A weak defense with this is a “cash hoard”, saying that you spent the cash hidden in your mattress, etc. Thus, if they ask you up front, and you say you never have much cash on hand, you can’t use that (weak) defense.
It’s Ok to have cash, btw. But a LOT of cash is somewhat suspicious.
\*get it?🆒
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/11 "2009-10-22T02:51:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> \*get it?🆒
Well, yeah, alarms started ringing. My problem was, “what money do they think I have, for Christ’s sake?” Turned out it was CDs appearing in “our sources” :rolleyes: as checking accounts.
Mrs. Plant actually asked, “Where are you getting this?” at which point I was certain the guy sitting in the back taking notes would shoot her. He didn’t, and the answer with a stilted smile was, “Our Sources.”
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/12 "2009-10-22T13:23:50Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> I didn’t do an “Ask the Guy Who Survived an IRS Audit” because that tends to piss off the Mods, and I’ve dealt with enought authority this week. 🙂
>
> Ask away.
I’d be fine with it – do you want me to change the thread title?
twicks, MPSIMS mod
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/13 "2009-10-22T14:44:21Z")
> [@twickster](#):
>
> I’d be fine with it – do you want me to change the thread title?
>
> twicks, MPSIMS mod
Er, Yes, please.
Is this a trap? Who is that guy in the back taking notes?:eek:
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/14 "2009-10-22T15:00:44Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> Er, Yes, please.
> Is this a trap? Who is that guy in the back taking notes?:eek:
The Mods are your friends.
**angelic smiley**
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### Author:  [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/15 "2009-10-22T16:43:48Z")
There are two kinds of audits. Audits where your file is flagged because of this or that. But they also do audits of people at random, just to check compliance.
Any idea which kind your audit was?
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/16 "2009-10-22T17:18:45Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> Any idea which kind your audit was?
I may be on a list. We have filed forms to file late, and have had to pay more tax, fees and interest in the past.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-survived-an-irs-audit-edited-title/514683/17 "2009-10-23T02:02:07Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> There are two kinds of audits. Audits where your file is flagged because of this or that. But they also do audits of people at random, just to check compliance.
>
> Any idea which kind your audit was?
The random ones are rare, and you’ll know. They also occur in batches.