The Internal Revenue Service has begun visiting the offices of 10,000 tax prepares to review their tax preparation procedures.  The program is new, and there is not much information about it, but some details are leaking out.

One CPA reported the visit was occasioned by the high number of returns with high income or losses on Schedule E.  Another thinks she was selected because she prepared a lot of returns last year with net operating losses.

The visits do not appear to be audits, and so far do not include audits of returns prepared by the office.  Insted, the focus is on office procedures and documentation of procedures.  In a few cases, the  Service's Criminal Investigation Division has been involved.