Due to the Biden administration’s significant funding boost, the Internal Revenue Service plans to dramatically increase audit procedures for big corporations, partnerships, and multimillionaires over the next three years.
In a recent press release, the IRS said it aims to nearly triple its audit rate to 22.6% for corporations with upwards of $250 million worth of assets in the 2026 tax year.
Audits in 2019 were 8.8%, a steep increase over the 9.0% in 2018.
For complex partnerships with assets topping $10 million, the IRS said it intends to increase audit rates nearly 10-fold, to 1% in tax year 2026 — up from 0.1% in 2019.
The IRS also said it is targeting a 50% increase in audit rates for individuals with a total positive annual income exceeding $10 million.
By the 2026 tax year, 16.5% of these wealthy individuals will be subject to an audit — up from 11% in 2019.
Why did I leave the IRS? In 2017, they took away my stack of rich person audits and gave me a stack of poor people audits. I couldn’t stomach auditing poor people. My health collapsed. I tried to keep going, but finally after weekly hospital visits I quit. #taxtwitter
— Howard Knudsen CPA (@howard_knudsen) May 3, 2024
In a blatant display of leftist pandering, the IRS has shamelessly revealed that it won’t dare to hike up audit rates for hardworking individuals and small businesses making under $400,000. While it sounds nice, this plan fits right in with President Biden’s socialist agenda of coddling the masses and punishing achievement. It’s just another step towards the destruction of our economy and the disintegration of Christian values.
As the owner of a #SmallBiz, you understand the importance of getting things right for your employees. #IRS changes made under the SECURE 2.0 Act may affect the amounts you need to report on your Forms W-2. For details: https://t.co/0p1uW7P4cx
— IRSnews (@IRSnews) May 2, 2024
The federal agency was bolstered by $80 billion in new funding directed by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Biden signed into law in 2022.
When the IRS conducts an audit, individuals or heads of businesses must meet with an auditor, who then reviews that a federal tax return was filed correctly. The official may ask for additional documentation to support the claims like reductions and credits cited in the return.
If there’s discrepancies, consequences can include tax evasion charges, which carry a civil fraud penalty of 75% of the understated tax and in the worst cases, the possibility of jail time.
The forthcoming changes were outlined as part of the IRS’s update on its so-called “strategic operating plan” in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, which vowed to modernize the IRS’s antiquated computer systems, improve taxpayer services and ramp up enforcement to close the “tax gap” between taxes owed and those collected.
According to the IRS, a total of $7.25 billion will be spent from these funds in fiscal 2024, up from $3.4 billion last year.
“The changes outlined in this report are a stark contrast to the years of under-funding that deteriorated taxpayer service and tax enforcement, frustrating taxpayers, the tax community and IRS employees alike,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement.
With Inflation Reduction Act funds, the IRS hired 13,661 employees in fiscal 2023, including 10,518 taxpayer services employees and 495 enforcement personnel.
The number of hires is expected to increase to 16,314 in fiscal 2024, including 4,088 enforcement personnel.
