How to avoid tax penalties after an audit

The good news: You survived an audit. So what now?

If you are audited and the result is that there are no adjustments to your return (or if you get a refund), it decreases your odds of being audited in subsequent years. If you are audited on the same items two years in a row with no additional taxes due, the IRS manual actually recommends that you not be audited for the same items for another year.

But what if you are audited and the IRS finds that you owe additional tax? You'll want to resolve those outstanding tax liabilities as soon as possible in order to avoid further interest and penalties.