The chances of being selected for an IRS audit are rare for most taxpayers. However, if you have good reason to believe that your return will be audited this year, you may wonder what you should be doing now to ensure the best possible outcome. These five crucial steps can help you get ready if or when you are chosen for an IRS audit.

Start Gathering Documentation

The outcome of your IRS audit will depend greatly on what kind of documentation you provide to the auditor. Even if you do not know right now what kind of paperwork will be asked for, you should still gather documents like:

• Paycheck stubs or earning statements
• Statements of investment dividends, annuities, and interest
• Bank statements
• Expense reports
• Receipts for medical bills, business costs, and other expenses you claimed on your return

As you compile these records, you should download and print off any documents available to you online. If your bank, broker, or employer has already archived the records that you need, you may have to contact those companies and request printed copies. In the future, it would help you to print off the paperwork as is made available to you.

Avoid Volunteering More Information than Needed

If you suspect that your current year's return will be audited, you should only provide documentation for that particular tax year. If you offer up information for the previous year's return, you could invite more scrutiny than necessary.

While it is vital that you remain honest and open about your returns, it is also important that you avoid offering up any more information than what could be asked for by an auditor. Provide documentation that relates to the current year's return and nothing that pertains to any previous year's filing.

Do Not File Any Returns During the Audit

Along with providing only what is asked for, you should avoid filing any more tax returns until the current audit is completed. If you file another return during your audit, you more than likely will be audited for that newest return as well. 

If the audit takes place close to the tax filing deadline, you should contact the IRS and request a filing extension. This extension will give you a few more months to file your return. By that time, your audit should be completed.

Attend the Audit as Scheduled

It is vital as well that you attend the audit as it is scheduled. You should go to the session even if you have yet to compile all of the requested records or you have done very little to prepare for the audit at all.

The auditor can start the process even with a minimal amount of provided documentation. You can continue to gather the required records as the audit proceeds on schedule.

Rely on Professional Tax Guidance

Perhaps the most important step you can take now to prepare for a possible audit involves hiring a tax professional to guide you. Chances are you do not know much, if anything at all, about tax laws or the auditing process. A tax professional, however, is well trained in today's tax laws and knows how audits are typically carried out. 

By relying on a tax pro, you will have competent and assertive representation, as well as an advocate who knows how to negotiate with IRS auditors. When you want the best possible outcome, you should immediately hire a tax professional who can protect your interests, prepare you for the auditing sessions, and advise you on what to say during the meetings.

You never know when your return will be chosen for an audit. You can prepare yourself now and guarantee the best possible auditing outcome by using these five important strategies.