Being Audited for EIC, Child Tax Credit, and Filing Status - What Documentation Do I Need?

Been through this twice. Not fun. They're checking common credits. For EIC, send W-2s. That's enough. For Child Tax Credit, you need proof of relationship and residency. Birth certificates work. School records showing your address work too. For Head of Household, utility bills help. Three months should be fine. Don't overwhelm them with paperwork. Keep it simple. They just need to verify basics.

Did they give you a deadline? You need to respond fast. Missing deadlines makes everything worse. What exactly does the letter say they want?

The letter states I have 30 days to respond, so I have 16 days remaining. They specifically requested 'documentation to substantiate eligibility' for each item. For the EIC, they want proof of earned income. For Child Tax Credit, they want proof my child lived with me for more than half the year. For Head of Household, they want proof I maintained the household. I've experienced audits in my investment portfolio before, but never for personal taxes, so this process is new to me.

Have you tried calling the IRS to get clarification on exactly what documents they'll accept? I went through this last year and spent 4 days trying to reach someone. When I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com), I got through to an agent in about 30 minutes who gave me a specific list of acceptable documents for each category. Saved me from sending the wrong things. The agent confirmed that for EIC, just W-2s were sufficient, and for Child Tax Credit, they preferred school records with both your name and address. Have you been able to speak with an actual agent about your specific case?

I'm not entirely sure, but I think you might need to provide more than just mortgage statements for Head of Household verification. Do you have any documentation showing you paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home? Maybe utility bills, property tax statements, grocery receipts? I've heard the IRS can be quite thorough with HOH verification.

Wait, are they doing a full audit or just a correspondence audit? There's a huge difference! A correspondence audit just means sending in documents by mail. A full audit means meeting with an IRS agent in person. The letter should make it clear which one this is. I panicked when I got mine, but it was just correspondence.

Did you know that EIC and Child Tax Credit audits are among the most common? The IRS has to verify these credits because of high improper payment rates. Want to know what really matters here? Organization. Send exactly what they ask for - no more, no less. Label everything clearly. Make a cover sheet listing each document. Include the letter they sent you. Make copies of everything you send. Use certified mail with return receipt. Want to know the biggest mistake people make? Sending originals instead of copies. Never send original documents to the IRS.

I successfully navigated an identical audit situation last tax season. For the EIC verification, I provided my W-2 and final paystub showing YTD earnings. For Child Tax Credit, I submitted: (1) birth certificate establishing relationship, (2) school records showing your address, and (3) medical records with both names. For Head of Household, I included: lease agreement, three utility bills from different months, and property insurance showing I maintained the household. The IRS accepted everything without follow-up questions and released my refund approximately 6 weeks after submission. The key was providing clear documentation for each specific requirement without overwhelming them with extraneous paperwork.