SusanY1
Expert Alumni

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Including an explanation doesn't necessarily lower the odds of the IRS asking about the income.  This is because the majority of IRS inquiries are computer generated and don't involve any human to actually look for things like explanation statements.  The computers don't have a way to read statements that haven't been specifically asked for by the IRS.  

If you have the explanation statement in your own records, it'll serve as a useful reference to supply to the IRS quickly in the event that they ask.  

I recommend preparing the statements for each of you to keep with your own records, but not worrying about supplying it at the time you file your tax return. 

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