11. Why is a tax return audited?
If you report wages, other income items or mortgage interest that differs from the amount reported to the IRS, you might receive a "correction notice" that simply asks you to explain the discrepancy. These computer-generated notices do not constitute an audit. Returns are actually audited for a variety of reasons. In most cases, your return may contain one or more items that make it stand out from the statistical information that the Internal Revenue Service has gathered about the "average" taxpayer in your income bracket. The audit will generally cover only those items that appear to be questionable on your return.
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