When FAST verified my taxes you found $800 in interest that the family didn't report. Is that a big deal? It's only $800.

Checking out Taxable Interest (line 8a) on the federal 1040 form and looking for a matching asset is a great way to tell if a family is being honest with you. $800 doesn't seem like much in the grand scheme of how much a family earned in a year, but with interest rates so low you should find a savings asset between $32,000 and $45,000. That's the amount of money it would take this year to gain that kind of interest. With a quick check, interest rates are typically below 2% on savings accounts with less than $50,000. Using this simple formula - Interest/.025 - you can quickly determine the total asset a family should have represented by the interest earned. If they are getting a better rate than that you should ask them where and email me so I can get my money in that bank.