What is VITA? Q.What is VITA? A.Low- and middle-income taxpayers may be eligible to receive free assistance to compute their taxes and file their returns electronically through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Read more about What is VITA?
How have cuts to the IRS’s appropriations affected its ability to administer the federal tax system? Q.How have cuts to the IRS’s appropriations affected its ability to administer the federal tax system? A.The IRS administers the federal tax laws that the Congress enacts. However, from 2010 through 2022, the IRS budget was cut by 24 percent, after accounting for inflation, leading to cutbacks in taxpayer services and enforcement. Read more about How have cuts to the IRS’s appropriations affected its ability to administer the federal tax system?
What is the audit rate? Q.What is the audit rate? A.The audit rate is the percent of tax returns filed for a tax year that are ultimately examined by the IRS. About 153.9 million individual tax returns were filed based on 2018 income, but only about 520,000 of those returns were audited—an overall audit rate of 0.3 percent. Audit rates are generally highest for high-income taxpayers, taxpayers with business income, large corporations, and earned income tax credit claimants. Read more about What is the audit rate?