Wealthy individuals, large corporations and partnerships are all audit targets, thanks in large part to the IRS’s multi-billion dollar windfall.
By Joy Taylor – Kiplinger Financial
The IRS is ramping up its enforcement efforts in large part due to its spending windfall. In 2022, lawmakers promised the agency $80 billion, to be spread out over 10 years. This is in addition to the IRS’s regular annual funding. Over half the money is for increased enforcement and collection measures.
This year, Congress clawed back 25% of the funding. Last year, the IRS released its operating plan, discussing what it would do with the extra money. On enforcement, the IRS said it would do more audits of big C corporations and partnerships, individuals with high income or high wealth, cross-border activities, digital currency and more.
The IRS has now updated that plan, giving a more specific audit roadmap. Large corporations would see their audit rates skyrocket under the IRS’s plan. The overall audit rate for 2019 C corporation Form 1120 tax returns was 0.4%, while C corps reporting $250 million or more in assets had a nearly 9% audit rate. The IRS wants to raise that 9% figure over time until it reaches 22.6% for 2026 returns. Expect audit rates of C corps with less than $250 million in assets to also go up.
Audit coverage of large partnerships and S corporations would increase to 1%. This number might seem small, but considering that for several years the audit rate for partnerships and S corps has hovered around 0.1%, it really is a sizable jump. The IRS’s updated plan projects that audit rates for pass-through entities with $10 million or more in assets would rise until they reach 1% for 2026 Forms 1065 and 1120-S.
Wealthy individuals with lots of income would also feel more audit heat. The IRS’s overall audit rate for 2019 individual returns was 0.3%. But individuals reporting $1 million or more of income had a higher audit rate: 11% for 2019 returns reporting $10 million or more of income, 3.1% for returns with income of over $5 million and under $10 million, and 1.6% for returns reporting income between $1 million and $5 million.