The IRS Conducted Approximately 500,000 Audits in 2024

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released its annual Data Book for the 2024 fiscal year. It contains several notable insights for taxpayers—in particular those who may be at risk of facing audits or investigations for alleged tax law violations. Here, Washington D.C. IRS tax lawyer Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, shares his key takeaways for taxpayers.

505,514 Audits Resulted in $29 Billion in Recommended Additional Tax

According to the IRS’ 2024 Data Book, the agency closed a total of 505,514 audits during the last fiscal year. This amounts to nearly 1,400 audits per day. The vast majority of these audits involved individual income tax returns (444,014), with employment tax returns accounting for the next-largest portion (32,615). The IRS audited just 8,279 corporate tax returns in fiscal year 2024.

Of the 505,514 audits the IRS conducted in 2024, more than three-quarters were correspondence audits (393,783). Notably, however, field audits accounted for nearly three-quarters of the IRS’ recommended additional tax ($23 billion). Some additional notable figures include:

• 219,858 – Of the 444,014 individual tax returns the IRS audited in fiscal year 2024, 219,858 reported either no positive income or positive income of less than $25,000.
• 13,414 – The IRS audited 13,414 individual tax returns in fiscal year 2024 that reported income of between $1 million and $10 million.
• 3,861 – The IRS audited 3,861 individual tax returns in 2024 that reported income of $10 million or more. The substantial majority of these audits (3,270) were field audits.

Overall, the IRS was far more likely to conduct field audits targeting high-income individual taxpayers and corporate taxpayers. Field audits targeting corporate taxpayers accounted for $15.2 billion in recommended additional tax liability, compared to just $2.5 billion in recommended additional tax liability from corporate correspondence audits. The 2024 Data Book indicates that the IRS only conducted field audits for corporations reporting total assets of $5 million or more.

Also noteworthy, the IRS assessed $84.1 billion in civil penalties and opened 2,667 criminal investigations last year.

Are You (or is Your Company) At Risk of Facing an Audit in 2025?

Could you (or your company) be at risk of facing an audit in 2025? If you have concerns about federal tax compliance, you should not ignore them. Violations of the Internal Revenue Code and other pertinent federal statutes carry substantial penalties—including criminal penalties in cases involving knowing and willful violations.

In this scenario, a proactive approach is almost always best. But, deciding which specific approach to take requires experienced legal representation. If you believe that you (or your company) could be at risk of facing an audit in 2025—or if you have already received an audit letter from the IRS—we encourage you to contact us promptly for more information.

Request a Call with Washington D.C. IRS Tax Lawyer Kevin E. Thorn

To request a call with Washington D.C. IRS tax lawyer Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, please call 202-349-4033 or contact us online. We will arrange a time for you to speak with Mr. Thorn in confidence as soon as possible.