Quote:
Originally Posted by perezfan
What if you cannot recall what you paid for items 25 years ago (decades before they taxed these things?)
Guesstimate the amount you paid, or take it up the a$$?
|
Go with the former, and document as much other info as you can. Believe it or not, the IRS does not disallow reasonable estimates in cases where the exact info may not always be found.
For example, when deducting business mileage from use of one's auto, the best thing to do is keep a written log. So how does an IRS agent know you didn't just stay up the night before to create a log for your audit today, they don't. But the fact that you have a written log, for which there really is no other reasonable way to definitively document your business mileage, will generally satisfy the IRS agent.