Why Do IRS Audit Numbers Continue to Decline?
![Business,Man,Drawing,Decline,Graph,Over,Blue,Background Why Do IRS Audit Numbers Continue to Decline?](https://groco.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/shutterstock_237475360-1024x682.jpg)
Why Do IRS Audit Numbers Continue to Decline?
No one would voluntarily go through an audit and, in fact, many people would rather experience a lot of other unpleasant situations over going through an audit from the IRS. Let’s face it, being selected for an audit can be a spine-curling experience for many taxpayers. In reality, an IRS audit is not the worst thing that could happen to a person, especially, if they hire an experienced accountant to help get through the process. Really, it all comes down to whether or not you have been honest with the IRS and whether or not you can prove your honesty. In any case, the good news is that the IRS simply isn’t doing as many audits as it used to, and the numbers keep declining. That means your chances of being audited continue to go down, especially if you have a reputable tax and accounting firm file your return. But that begs the question: Why is the number of audits continuing to decline?
Budget Cuts Means Service Cuts
Of course, the answer lies in politics. The IRS, love em or hate em, does have an important job to do. That is to collect America’s taxes in order to help pay for many government run and assisted programs. However, thanks to many mistakes and some terrible decisions, including targeting many politicians on the right, the IRS has taken a beating by lawmakers on Capitol Hill. In fact, the tax agency has already seen its budget cut way back, which according to IRS officials, is making it difficult to perform even some of its most basics responsibilities. Because of that fact, the agency says it simply can’t keep up with all it has to do, and therefore cuts are made.
Taxpayers Not Getting Much Help
Audits aren’t the only IRS function that has taken a hit. According to IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen, less than 1 percent of all tax returns will even be checked for accuracy. As far as audits go, 2015 saw another decline from the previous year as the IRS completed only 1.2 million audits this year. That was nearly 14,000 fewer than in 2014. That also represents a decline of 350,000 from just five years ago, which is a 22 percent drop. Interestingly, revenue agents have also dropped by 22 percent over that same time period. Meantime, if you are trying to contact the IRS by phone, good luck ever getting a response. If you do, then consider yourself one of the lucky ones.
More Cuts to Come?
Of course, none of this will cause too many taxpayers to shed a tear. After all, the IRS is one of the most hated entities in the world. So, while some agree that the Internal Revenue Service is a necessary evil, it appears that Congress will continue to take aim at the IRS and that the nation’s top tax agency will continue to feel the heat. If the budget cuts continue, then audits could be down yet again in 2016. In fact it’s probably not a matter of if audits will go down, but really just a question of by how much.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
We hope you found this article about “Why Do IRS Audit Numbers Continue to Decline?” helpful. If you have questions or need expert tax or family office advice that’s refreshingly objective (we never sell investments), please contact us or visit our Family office page or our website at www.GROCO.com. Unfortunately, we no longer give advice to other tax professionals gratis.
To receive our free newsletter, contact us here.
Subscribe our YouTube Channel for more updates.
Alan Olsen, is the Host of the American Dreams Show and the Managing Partner of GROCO.com. GROCO is a premier family office and tax advisory firm located in the San Francisco Bay area serving clients all over the world.
Alan L. Olsen, CPA, Wikipedia Bio
GROCO.com is a proud sponsor of The American Dreams Show.
The American Dreams show was the brainchild of Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA. It was originally created to fill a specific need; often inexperienced entrepreneurs lacked basic information about raising capital and how to successfully start a business.
Alan sincerely wanted to respond to the many requests from aspiring entrepreneurs asking for the information and introductions they needed. But he had to find a way to help in which his venture capital clients and friends would not mind.
The American Dreams show became the solution, first as a radio show and now with YouTube videos as well. Always respectful of interview guest’s time, he’s able to give access to individuals information and inspiration previously inaccessible to the first-time entrepreneurs who need it most.
They can listen to venture capitalists and successful business people explain first-hand, how they got to where they are, how to start a company, how to overcome challenges, how they see the future evolving, opportunities, work-life balance and so much more..
American Dreams discusses many topics from some of the world’s most successful individuals about their secrets to life’s success. Topics from guest have included:
Creating purpose in life / Building a foundation for their life / Solving problems / Finding fulfillment through philanthropy and service / Becoming self-reliant / Enhancing effective leadership / Balancing family and work…
MyPaths.com (Also sponsored by GROCO) provides free access to content and world-class entrepreneurs, influencers and thought leaders’ personal success stories. To help you find your path in life to true, sustainable success & happiness. It’s mission statement:
In an increasingly complex and difficult world, we hope to help you find your personal path in life and build a strong foundation by learning how others found success and happiness. True and sustainable success and happiness are different for each one of us but possible, often despite significant challenges.
Our mission at MyPaths.com is to provide resources and firsthand accounts of how others found their paths in life, so you can do the same.
Democrats Take Dead Aim at Tax Inversions
The democrat lead U.S. Senate has been making a lot of noise lately regarding tax inversions, the practice of U.S. companies moving their corporate headquarters overseas in order to avoid the high price of overbearing U.S. corporate taxes. Those senators have apparently made good on a recent promise that they would look to put a…
How to Find the Right Investment Advisor
Are you looking to invest? Perhaps you just want some help with your financial planning or even your estate planning. Finding someone that can truly help you is difficult sometimes, simply because there are so many options to choose from. The Internet is full of so-called experts that can help you make wise investments and…
What’s the Deal With U.S. Corporate Taxes?
What’s the Deal With U.S. Corporate Taxes? There has been a lot of back-and-forth amongst lawmakers and political pundits in the media lately regarding U.S. companies switching their addresses to foreign locations in order to avoid corporate taxes. One side claims that there is nothing wrong with such deals, while many democratic lawmakers, including President…
Is the Government Going to Tax You for Using the Internet?
Is the Government Going to Tax You for Using the Internet? Taxes, taxes and more taxes: that appears to be the government’s answer for just about every problem we face in society. There seems to be no end to the list of things that the government wants to tax. Now it seems that Americans could…