[acdha]

> Anyone who has ever dealt with IRS will know that they seem to arbitrarily inflate the amounts they ask for. When this happens, you need a tax attorney to point out to them that they got it wrong.

The people I know who weren’t cheating or in very complicated scenarios did not have this problem. It’s certainly possible but remember that our impressions are skewed by a large, well-funded media operation promoting the idea that the IRS is horrific for political and business reasons. Intuit alone makes billions from that idea.

A retired IRS auditor mentioned that around half of the cases they processed ended up finding deductions which benefited the taxpayer more than the discrepancies.

[anonymousiam]

Well you don't know me. I usually leave off a few deductions just in case I get audited. That way the IRS will end up owing me money after the audit. Despite this, there have been a number of screw ups. The latest was in 2017 when they "lost" the cost basis (submitted by me and my brokerage) for my investments and then sent me a bill for over $200k of capital gains.

I have known people who could not be bothered to file their taxes. The IRS would bill them and they would pay. If somebody pays the IRS without question, it seems to set off a red flag and the IRS will immediately follow up with another bill. Also, if you do not file, you get zero deductions and they will base their bill on that.

[acdha]

> Well you don't know me. I usually leave off a few deductions just in case I get audited. That way the IRS will end up owing me money after the audit.

So you’re saying that you give the government a donation every year just in case you get audited so you might get it back that year? This does not seem like a financial win.

Again, I’m not saying that the IRS are perfect — only that it’s not wise to base your opinion on anecdotes. This is both a political issue and one where a lot of people have an incentive to blame the government for catching them, while everyone else has little reason to say they haven’t had problems. It’s like learning about feminism at a bar favorited by middle-aged divorced guys.

[anonymousiam]

I choose to not claim several deductions to which I am entitled. E.g. Use of vehicle for business, Home office deduction, etc. I could easily defend these deductions, but claiming them would increase the odds of an audit. I don't want to waste my time and money dealing with an audit, so I pay a little more and decrease my odds of having one. I do not view this as a "donation".