Made Good Money in 2012? Get Ready for an Audit!

Made Good Money in 2012? Get Ready for an Audit!

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How much money you make could determine whether or not you are audited – the more you make, the greater the chance the  Internal Revenue Service, which only audits about 1 percent of individual tax returns each year, will target your return.

Last year, taxpayers with incomes of more than $200,000 had a 3.4 percent chance of being audited. While those earning more than $1 million had a 12 percent chance of being audited.  -  See the IRS’ breakdown of audits vs. income here

TAX PREPARERING HIGH SCHOOLERS    High school students across the country are doing free tax returns for low-income community members through the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. The students are certified IRS-tax preparers through the program which recruits young freshman to work for the IRS. Each year, they prepare an average 16,000 through VITA and its companion program, Tax Counseling for the Elderly, which offers free tax counseling to taxpayers who are 60 and older. The programs together scored a total of $3.8 billion in tax refunds last year. -  Read more at USA Today

MORE AMERICANS THINK THEIR TAXES ARE UNFAIR    A new Gallup poll released Monday shows the lowest percentage of Americans view their federal income tax as fair since 2001. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed say that their federal income tax is fair, Forty-two percent say it’s not fair, and 3 percent have no opinion.  -  See the poll here

HOW ARE YOUR FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS BEING SPENT? Do you ever wonder where your tax dollars go every year? Look no further, the White House has a feature that calculates what percent all of your tax dollars go to certain programs and funds. -  Check it out here

MORE ON TAXES:
Here are the five states people are fleeing to avoid high taxes

And these are the ten states they might be fleeing too (with the lowest tax burdens)

Here are 11 surprising things you have to pay taxes on

Here are 13 tax breaks you’ve probably never heard of

IS THE GLOBAL ECONOMY STUCK IN A RUT?    “Despite strong financial markets and confidence returning to business and consumers in emerging economies, overall indicators of growth have hardly budged since mid-2011, since when repeated tentative upswings have always been snuffed out by weak data and renewed stress in the Eurozone,” The Financial Times’ Chris Giles writes. “The evidence of continued stress in the global economy will ensure a subdued mood at this week's spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington. Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, has already warned of the new risks ... with some countries doing well, some on the mend and some still in trouble.” -  Read more at The Financial Times

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC CRISIS BREWING   Patrick Smith, a columnist for The Fiscal Times,’ writes, “There is increasing evidence that five years of prolonged financial and economic turmoil, coupled with high growth in emerging-market economies, are leading to a fundamental shift in financial assets away from advanced nations and into the developing and middle-income categories. The question is not whether this is occurring but whether it will ignite a crisis.” -  Read more at The Fiscal Times 

Brianna Ehley is the former Washington Correspondent for The Fiscal Times. She is currently a reporter on Politico's health care team in Washington, D.C.