I'm about to file my(our) 2014 tax returns.
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> In 2013, I paid all my state/local taxes through June, 2014 (the end of the state's fiscal year). I delayed paying any state/local taxes in 2014, paying them in January, 2015. Effectively, my deductions in 2014 were negligible, so I'm taking the standard deduction, something I haven't done in 40 years.
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> In addition, I turned my IRA into a Roth IRA which created a substantial windfall (tax wise). For the first time, I'm going to have to pay the AMT. (with 20-20 hindsight, I should have done the IRA-to-Roth over several years).
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> Will this unusual behavior trigger an audit? Should I enclose a note telling them what I did and why?
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Changes in your return composition from year to year do not trigger audits. Audits are generally selected on the basis of the contents of that year's return.
Including a note with your return is a waste of time. No one will read it. The data entry clerks who process paper returns are only interested in keying in the data elements which determine your tax liability and balance due/refund.
Ira Smilovitz