Originally Posted by
Flyingifr
Actually, there are no "red flags" - you are assuming the IRS computers actually think like people and get suspicious. They don't. All they do is add and subtract, like add up payments against a tax liability and then subtract it from the tax liability. An overpayment generates a check to the taxpayer and an underpayment generates a bill.
So, as a tax practitioner, you'd write your client a "will" opinion that a payment in February 2019 on a tax year 2016 return would have no effect on the likelihood that the 2016 return would be selected for examination by the IRS, and that the resulting overpayment would be refunded to the client within XX days?