If you’re trying to avoid an IRS audit, leave these three things alone on your tax return

If you’re trying to avoid an IRS audit, leave these three things alone on your tax returnListen(9 min)Listen(9 min)Vickie Kidner has been married almost 45 years, and she has been taking care of the family finances almost that whole time. When she was a newlywed in the early 1980s, she took a tax course to get some practice filing returns. “We were told to put the man’s name first,” she said. “I remember questioning it. The instructors said it was standard, and we don’t want to confuse the IRS.”About the AuthorBeth Pinsker is a financial-planning columnist at MarketWatch. She has been a certified financial planner (CFP®) since 2018. Previously, she worked at Reuters, Fidelity and Walletpop.com. Prior to covering personal finance, she was a film critic and entertainment business reporter, writing for Entertainment Weekly, The Dallas Morning News and many other publications. Her book, "My Mother's Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving," is out in November 2025 from Crown Currency. You can follow heron BlueSky (@bethpinsker.bsky.social) or LinkedIn (@bpinsker).A Dow Jones CompanyCopyright © 2026 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved.