Tax time quiz: Are you likely to be audited?

Audit!

Sorry,  I didn't mean to scare you.

Something to think about when you file your taxes: if you have something that the IRS might ask questions about, do you have a reasonable explanation for it? Maybe you do, but think about the possibility of being audited.

This article (via taxprof) talks a little about who is likely to be audited: typically the highest and lowest earners.

Something else to think about: maybe you know someone who hasn't paid their taxes. You might be able to get an award for letting the IRS know that he or she hasn't filed. It's called a whistle blower award. The catch is that you might have to wait years to get the award. More information here. One more catch: you need to give information that's more than just a hint, or suspicion that someone isn't paying.

Jail time for attorney who claimed tax law expertise

A Hawaii personal injury attorney who advertised his tax law expertise has been sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for understating his income on his own 2006 return.

Article here. 

He earned about $630,000 in 2006, but told the feds his gross income was a little under $300,000, according to the Associated Press.