Chances of Getting Audited Extremely Low

This year, the IRS will have the least amount of agents auditing returns since the 1980s.  This also affects taxpayer services, with millions of phone calls to the IRS going unanswered.

Last year, the IRS audited less than 1% of all returns, which is the lowest since 2005.  IRS Commissioner John Koskinen says this year “the numbers will go down.”  Of course, the more you make, the more likely you will be audited.  Only 0.9% of people making less than $200,000 were audited in 2013, compared with 10.9% of people making over $1 million. 

Koskinen believes the IRS can scrutinize more returns, and collect billions more in revenue, if it has more resources.  The president’s budget proposal predicts that the IRS can collect an additional $6 for every $1 increase in the agency’s enforcement budget.

See Steven Maimes, Chances of Getting Audited by IRS Lowest in Years, The Trust Advisor, Apr. 14, 2014.