IRS Audits of Individual Income Tax Returns

(includes Service Center (SC) and District Audits)

Fiscal Year Returns Filed* Total District Audits SC Audits
(old definition)
Total Audited
(old definition)
Percent Audited
(old definition)
SC Audits (new definition) Total Audited
(new definition)
Percent Audited
(new definition)
1981 93,052,000 1,482,586 161,518 1,644,104 1.77 975,541 2,458,127
2.64
1982 94,013,000 1,352,063 103,173 1,455,236 1.55 819,366 2,171,429
2.30
1983 95,419,000 1,279,810 147,850 1,427,660 1.5 1,078,066 2,357,876
2.47
1984 95,541,300 1,135,533 80,394 1,215,927 1.27 761,126 1,896,659
1.99
1985 96,496,900 1,143,517 122,075 1,265,592 1.31 680,951 1,824,468
1.89
1986 99,529,000 1,031,399 59,550 1,090,949 1.1 643,578 1,674,977
1.68
1987 101,750,800 927,964 181,251 1,109,215 1.09 684,560 1,612,524
1.58
1988 103,251,000 885,134 175,682 1,060,816 1.03 735,534 1,620,668
1.57
1989 107,029,000 785,647 198,971 984,618 0.92 599,348 1,384,995
1.29
1990 109,868,400 719,319 163,181 882,500 0.8 425,641 1,144,960
1.04
1991 112,304,900 700,621       612,547 1,313,168
1.17
1992 113,829,200 746,806       459,213 1,205,919
1.06
1993 114,718,900 756,251       302,715 1,058,966
0.92
1994 113,754,400 820,232       405,475 1,225,707
1.08
1995 114,683,400 797,485       1,121,952 1,919,437
1.67
1996 116,059,700 761,850       1,179,696 1,941,546
1.67
1997 118,362,600 715,615       803,628 1,519,243
1.28
1998 120,342,400 551,420
(**567,759)
      625,021 1,192,780
0.99
1999 121,829,470 383,467       715,789 1,099,256
0.90
2000 124,887,140 251,108       366,657 617,765 0.49
2001 127,097,210 202,501       529,241 731,742
0.58


Source:
Internal Revenue Service. *Includes audits conducted under the Assistant Commissioner (International) outside the jurisdiction of regular IRS district offices. From 2000.

*  Returns filed during previous calendar year.

**Until recently, IRS audits emphasized "face-to-face" district office contacts. In 1994 IRS changed its definition of what it counts as an "audit," and recalculated
its audit numbers using this new definition back to 1988. IRS estimates from 1981-1988 include all types of returns corrected, although majority are individual returns. It now counts all contacts of taxpayers by correspondence by tax examiners from its Service Centers as audits. These are typically generated by computer matching of returns with third-party information to spot potential discrepancies. In examining audit rates, it is thus very important to recognize that an "audit"
means something very different today then it did a few years ago.


Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University
Copyright, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002