I call it reading the fine print. Fear of an IRS audit is real. The do it yourself tax preparation business has grown in the last few years. Obviously we are biased, but why in the world would you trust a box to assist in preparing a tax return and later rely on down loadable audit support for help.

In the case of the most popular do it yourself tax preparation software, assistance is not even available if you file a business return. I copied and pasted from their web site emphasis is ours:

Audit Support Included FREE with All TurboTax Personal Tax Products

TurboTax not only helps you reduce your chance of an audit, we also give you clear guidelines with
illustrations on what to do if you are contacted by the IRS.^{1<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<}

Includes Downloadable Audit Support Center

Being contacted by the IRS can be confusing and stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. That’s why we’ve created the TurboTax Audit Support Center, included for FREE with all TurboTax products.

Only about 1% of all personal tax returns were audited,² so it is unlikely, but if you are contacted by the IRS, we’ll help you to:

Find out why the IRS contacted you
Determine what it means
Prepare your next steps

With downloadable step-by-step guidance, including what different types of IRS letters may mean, you’ll know exactly where you stand and what to do next.

Remember, TurboTax guarantees 100% accurate calculations. If you pay an IRS or state penalty or interest because of a TurboTax calculation error, we’ll pay you the penalty and interest.

¹Not included with TurboTax Business.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

²Based on IRS results for tax year 2009

So if you file a business return. The number one target of IRS audits, you really are on your own. No audit support for business returns.

After a little hunting on their site I found that additional tax audit support is available for about $40.00. More than the cost to prepare some returns.

But it gets a little murkier. These services are outsourced to a third party Tax Resources Inc. And their help can be spotty.

Click here to read some users comments.

Better yet click this link to read user comments about TurboTax.