Hi everyone. Got a question for the pratitioners out there. I am moving to a new tax package this year and am wondering about something.

If a taxpayer has automobile expenses, the 2 questions concerning 'evidence to support' and 'is it written' must be answered Yes or No (Does ANYONE ever answer NO?). Anyway, I have found that the diagnostics in every package I tested, expect one, missed the diag when I intentionally left one of the two checkboxes blank.

Does the IRS assume a YES answer if the boxes are not checked? During a busy tax season, I will miss this. My old tax package caught the blank entry for me, but the new one does not.

Thank a bunch.....!

Bruce Tyler, EA
aka TheTaxWizard

If a taxpayer has automobile expenses, the 2 questions concerning 'evidence to support' and 'is it written' must be answered Yes or No (Does ANYONE ever answer NO?). Anyway, I have found that the diagnostics in every package I tested, expect one, missed the diag when I intentionally left one of the two checkboxes blank.

Does the IRS assume a YES answer if the boxes are not checked? During a busy tax season, I will miss this. My old tax package caught the blank entry for me, but the new one does not.

I don't know what software you're using, but I just checked my Lacerte and found that it always answers the questions. If I make no entry, they make the usual guess - Yes. I must make an entry to get a No answer. It will not leave them blank. There is no diagnostic, and no change to the auto deduction.

I don't know what the IRS would do.

--Peter