Tax Audit Risk Among Reasons to Incorporate Side Business

CPA Michael Hanley, who specializes in working with small business, advises:

"The #1 most overlooked tip by people running side businesses is that they fail to setup a business entity because they still view their business as a little side business that they will incorporate when things take off."

Sole Proprietorships (the business structure you default to if you fail to setup a Corporation, LLC, etc) are subject to the highest audit risk out of all the business structures. The reason for this high audit risk is that all Sole Proprietorships report their business income and expenses on Schedule C (the second most highly audited form that you can attach to your tax return). By setting up an S Corporation, you become nine times less likely to be selected for a random IRS audit (audit risk decreases from 2.7% to .3%, making it very possible that you can go your entire life without ever being selected for an audit).

Setting up a Side Business Can Be Risky Unless You Do it Right, Mithcell York, About.com: Enterepreneurs

How to Avoid an IRS Tax Audit: Incorporate Your Small Business

One tip for Dodging a Tax Audit, per the Wall Street Journal's reporting: Incorporate. The WSJ reports that the IRS continues to target Schedule C filers for tax audits and additionally notes that the IRS will sometimes act on an anoymous tip regarding a taxpayer's non-compliance with U.S. tax law.

[T]he overall audit rate this year is likely to remain about the same as last year, says Linda Stiff, IRS deputy commissioner for services and enforcement. But officials are likely to continue their emphasis on high-income taxpayers. Your chances of getting audited are especially high if you work for yourself, file what's known as a Schedule C form for sole proprietors and deal in large amounts of cash. IRS research has shown especially large amounts of noncompliance among this group.

"Like Willie Sutton said about banks, the IRS is looking at high-income, self-employed Schedule C filers because that's where the money is," says Martin Laffer, a certified public accountant at Laffer & Gottlieb in Beverly Hills, Calif. For example, he says one of his clients being audited owns several retail stores and also is a consultant.

See also:

Time to Incorporate?
California incorporation