I am finally filing a return for the last year of my marriage. The return is late by a fair amount of time due to complications in the separation. I hired an accountant do the taxes, and we are due to receive a substantial return.
Maybe I’m just being nervous, but it seems to me that the late filing and large return may be red flags and may trigger an audit. I’d like to avoid a situation where we receive the return, I give half to my ex, and then we are audited and found to owe money. Is there any way to have the return reviewed at the time that it is filed, and is this a good way to handle this?
If you’re hiring an accountant to prepare the tax return, isn’t it his or her job to represent you at any audit?
Don’t cheat. 
I doubt it would trigger an alarm and if you’re accountant knows what you’re doing, it’s doubtful you’d owe any appreciable amount of money.
Gee, you guys are taking all the fun out of being a belt and suspenders type of guy.
Seriously, thanks.
A large return, by itself, does not trigger an audit; I’ve never been audited even on occasions when the refund is in the tens of thousands. A late return does not trigger an audit either, on average, particularly when a refund is due. The US government is happy to use the money provided them by those who allow high refunds to accumulate (like me) or procrastinate in filing for said refund (like you).
If there is no tax evasion fraud, an audit is not particularly nerve-wracking. If only for tax-avoidance disagreements, I don’t think you’d be held accountable for more than your share. The IRS does have a helpline if you are wondering about a specific tax strategy, although I don’t think they actually “OK” a return until they see the whole thing. I wouldn’t hesitate to ask them first unless you think you are pursuing a fairly grey strategy.
There appears to be a lot of interchanging of the term “refund” for “return” in the above posts.
Just make sure that your divorce decree indicates that she is responsible for her share of any future taxes you may jointly owe for any of the years that you were married. You should not only be worried about this most recent tax year, but any other previous tax years where you may be audited and found to owe more taxes.
I don’t see a problem here. The IRS is glad to have you loan them money. I’ve filed outdated returns for people with refunds up to three years. The take their time processing those late returns. Don’t expect the refund at all during peak tax season. Other than that, don’t worry, be happy.