I have never been entirely convinced that I have neither screwed up somehow in filing US federal tax forms, nor paid the minimum possible amount in tax. Even i

I have never been entirely convinced that I have neither screwed up somehow in filing US federal tax forms, nor paid the minimum possible amount in tax. Even if I were to somehow correctly claim every applicable reduction, and keep all the necessary supporting documentation, I still couldn't be certain that some faceless IRS agent wouldn't later tax my time by arbitrarily making me defend my filings in detail. Being objectively correct is not adequate defense against IRS penalties. If you have never had to pay one, it may just be because the IRS computer never (randomly?) spat out your number for further scrutiny by a human.