What Are The Chances of Being Audited?

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The IRS can’t audit everybody but just how many taxpayers are being audited? Find out the percentage by income.

There are over 200 million tax returns filed every year. There’s no way the IRS could audit all of them. So just how many of these returns are being audited? Out of all of those filings, the IRS audits just a little over 1%.

It turns out, as you might guess, the less you make, the better chance you have of steering clear of auditors—unless, of course, you claimed zero. And as you grow financially, you are sure to have closer attention paid to you by Uncle Sam.

Below is a breakdown of how many audits are performed according to taxpayers’ total income as of 2010 which is the most recent available data:

  • No income reported: 3.9% of returns audited
  • $1 to $25,000: 1.18% of returns audited
  • $25,000 to $50,000: 0.73% of returns audited
  • $50,000 to $75,000: 0.78% of returns audited
  • $75,000 to $100,000: 0.64% of returns audited
  • $100,000 to $200,000: 0.71% of returns audited
  • $200,000 to $500,000: 1.92% of returns audited
  • $500,000 to $1,000,000: 3.37% of returns audited
  • $1,000,000 to $5,000,000: 6.67% of returns audited
  • $5,000,000 to 10,000,000: 11.56% of returns audited
  • $10,000,000 and up: 18.38% of returns audited

Our job is to help you make sure you avoid any mistakes that would increase you chances of an audit. Contact us today so we can help you navigate through your unique situation. And if you are being audited, we can help you through that experience as well. Give us a call!