Here's a Tip

You know the tax code is complicated when the IRS itselfcan't figure it out. According to an audit by the TreasuryDepartment's inspector general for tax administration, IRS taxcounselors provided erroneous information for 19 of the 23 returnspresented by undercover auditors, for an unsettling error rate of83 percent.

Results from the audit, conducted from February to April 2003,were released earlier this year. Auditors visited more than twodozen of the IRS' 200 Taxpayer Assistance Centers, wheretaxpayers meet with counselors for help with returns. Investigatorsfound that counselors inaccurately advised clients about what formsto use, which deductions to take and what income to report. The IRSdeclined to be interviewed, but attributed most errors tothird-party taxation software in a statement in the inspectorgeneral's report last January. The agency also added astatement saying action was underway to train counselors to do abetter job of asking taxpayers about their financial status andeligibility for tax credits and deductions.