If you are going through an audit, One very important question is what do you bring with you?
Typically the audit notice will give you a list Of documents to bring with you. So get started by gathering those documents. Keep in mind you should only bring documents related to the year or years listed in the audit notice. Try to avoid bringing documents that overlap into other unrelated years.

If the auditor asks you about items He did not list just tell him you are not prepared to discuss those items. Try not to bring up questions Or for that matter anything about unlisted items.

1. Do not bring tax returns for other years. You are never required to give the IRS another copy of your tax return. Once you have filed the original. (The only exception being if the IRS claims they did not receive The original).

2. Do not give the auditor original documents. The IRS loses documents all the time. In one recent article the IRS admitted To losing over 1 million documents a year.

3. Take with you receipts and canceled checks that relate only to the areas listed. If you don’t have canceled checks you can bring a bank statement. Do not let the auditor go through personal checks and receipts that are not related to the tax return.

4. If your Business no records of all The auditor will probably make up records by guessing, Usually they will use industry standards.

At some point you will have to decide if you want to go it alone or hire a professional to help you.
You can go to the audit by yourself. You can bring a representative with you or you can have a professional go while you stay at home.