The method the IRS uses to decide on choosing tax returns to be audited, has been called into question by the government official responsible for providing oversight of the agency's processes, according to the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in "IRS Faulted on Scrutiny of Estate and Gift Tax Returns."
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration issued a report that criticized the IRS for its handling of estate and gift tax returns. In part, the report faults the IRS for the way in which it scrutinizes those returns and suggests that the process is not fair to taxpayers.
What that means, however, is not that the IRS should look at fewer returns. It means that they should look at more returns to make sure everyone is filing them appropriately.
The IRS has agreed to make the changes that the inspector general suggested.
If the IRS is going to start scrutinizing more estate and gift tax returns, then the people filing those returns need to be even more diligent than they already are.
Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (Oct. 15, 2017) "IRS Faulted on Scrutiny of Estate and Gift Tax Returns."
