Tax audits or examinations arent terribly common in fiscal year 2019 just 04 of all individual income tax returns were audited according to the irs but that low likelihood doesnt give. An irs office audit usually is regarding items listed on schedule a c or e there will be lots of questions relating to the issue at hand for this audit its best to have a tax specialist with you who can help prepare you and speak on your behalf in order to figure out what the irs needs. Generally the irs can audit returns filed in the last three years but if it identifies a substantial error it may look back further typically no more than six years according to the irs this. The internal revenue service performs tax audits on businesses and individuals to assure that all income is reported that expense deductions are legitimate and in general to assure that the business is complying with the tax laws a tax audit can be a scary process but its easier to survive if you have the information in hand