well, the reports of the IRS Facts and Figures are out for 2015.
Take a peek!!!!!
Highlights of the Data IRS Audits
• The IRS audited a total of almost 1.4 million tax returns, approximately 0.7 percent of all returns filed in Calendar Year (CY) 2014
• The IRS audited 0.8 percent of all individual income tax returns filed in CY 2014, and 1.3 percent of corporation income tax returns
• IRS conducted the majority of Fiscal Year 2015 audits, 72.6 percent, via correspondence. The remaining 27.4 percent were conducted in the field
• Of the almost 1.4 million examinations of tax returns, nearly 28,000 taxpayers did not agree with the IRS examiner’s determination, totaling to an unagreed recommended additional tax of about $7.4 billion
Info on Data
• In Fiscal Year 2015, the IRS received over 2.6 billion third-party information returns, almost 87.2 percent of which were filed electronically
• The IRS closed more than 3.7 million cases under the Automated Underreporter Program resulting in more than $6.3 billion in additional assessments
• The IRS closed 614,000 cases under its Automated Substitute for Return Program resulting in over $2.7 billion in additional assessments
• For Tax Year (TY) 2014 individual income tax returns processed during Calendar Year 2015, IRS sent almost 1.7 million notices to taxpayers for almost 2.2 million math errors identified on their returns
• For TY 2014, math errors associated with calculation of income or other taxes made up almost 34.0 percent of total math errors. For TY 2013 and prior years, misreporting the number and amount of exemptions was the most common error, making up 24.8 percent of the total
IRS Collection Data
• Overall, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, the IRS collected, net of credit transfers, almost $35.6 billion in unpaid assessments on returns filed with additional tax due
• The IRS assessed $14.5 billion in additional taxes for returns not filed timely and collected almost $2.3 billion with delinquent returns
• In FY 2015, taxpayers proposed 67,000 offers in compromise to settle existing tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. IRS accepted 27,000 offers, amounting to $204.7 million, during the year.
• The IRS assessed $24.1 billion in civil penalties. Approximately half of that amount, $12.4 billion, was assessed in civil penalties on individual and estate and trust income tax returns
Highlights of the Data for assistance
• In Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, the IRS provided taxpayer assistance through over 493.2 million visits to IRS.gov, assisted over 61.3 million taxpayers through its toll-free telephone helpline or at walk-in sites, and received 234.0 million inquiries in the Where’s My Refund application (
• The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS and recommends changes that will prevent those problems in the future.
Taxpayers may submit an application for assistance to TAS. In FY 2015, TAS received 227,189 new requests for assistance and closed 227,512 cases, including those received in a prior fiscal year
• The mission of Appeals is to resolve tax controversies without litigation, on a basis that is fair and impartial to both the taxpayer and the Federal Government.
The Appeals Office considers cases that involve examination, collection, and penalty issues. Taxpayers who disagree with IRS findings in their cases may request an Appeals hearing.
The local Appeals Office is separate and independent of the IRS office that proposed the tax adjustment, collection action, or penalty.
During FY 2015, the IRS Appeals Office received 113,870 new cases and closed 117,673 cases, including those received in a prior fiscal year
Highlights of the Data for expenditures
• IRS’ actual expenditures for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 were $11.4 billion for overall operations in FY 2015, down from almost $11.6 billion in FY 2014
• Taxpayer Services funding, which includes processing for tax returns and related documents, and assistance to taxpayers filing returns and paying taxes due, accounted for $2.2 billion
• Enforcement funding, which includes the examination of tax returns, collection of balances due, and administrative and judicial settlement of taxpayer appeals of examination findings, represented $4.8 billion. This funding also provided resources to strengthen enforcement aimed at reducing invalid claims and erroneous filings associated with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program
• Operations Support provides administrative services, policy management, and IRS-wide support.
This appropriation also funds staffing, equipment, and related costs used to manage, maintain, and operate critical information systems supporting tax administration.
The IRS spent over $4.1 billion in operations support in FY 2015
Highlights of this year’s Data Book- Various
• During FY 2015, the IRS collected more than $3.3 trillion, processed more than 243 million tax returns and other forms, and issued over $403 billion in tax refunds.
• With more than a 15-percent reduction in full-time-equivalent staffing compared to 5 years ago, operations across a number of areas were downsized, including the total number of individual tax return examinations, which decreased by 22 percent over the same time period.
• The agency’s Website continued to get heavy use with more than 493 million visits to IRS.gov in FY 2015; and one of our most popular online tools, “Where’s My Refund?”, handled a record-breaking 234 million inquiries, a 24-percent increase over the prior year.
