Is it true that taking the child-care tax credit can trigger an audit?

It's impossible to make your tax-return audit-proof, but it helps to know that claiming certain tax breaks can increase your chances of being red-flagged. One area that the Internal Revenue Service scrutinizes is child care expenses because many people pay cash for child care and may not have adequate records for the deduction. Even if you legitimately paid for the child care, the IRS wants to make sure that the provider included the payments in their income.

If you always pay for the care by check and insist on getting a receipt, you'll have a much better chance of defending yourself if the IRS eventually questions your child care tax credits.