Where in The U.S. Are You Most Likely to Be Audited by the IRS?

[mbusby]

By Paul Kiel and Hannah Fresques, ProPublica, April 1, 2019

Humphreys County, Mississippi, seems like an odd place for the IRS to go hunting for tax cheats. It’s a rural county in the Mississippi Delta known for its catfish farms, and more than a third of its mostly African American residents are below the poverty line. But according to a new study, it is the most heavily audited county in America.

In a baffling twist of logic, the intense IRS focus on Humphreys County is actually because so many of its taxpayers are poor. More than half of the county’s taxpayers claim the earned income tax credit, a program designed to help boost low-income workers out of poverty. As we reported last year, the IRS audits EITC recipients at higher rates than all but the richest Americans, a response to pressure from congressional Republicans to root out incorrect payments of the credit.

The study estimates that Humphreys, with a median annual household income of just $26,000, is audited at a rate 51 percent higher than Loudoun County, Virginia, which boasts a median income of $130,000, the highest in the country.

Read more: https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/eitc-audit

[SWBTATTReg]

1. I was going to guess all blue states knowing how rump can be against his opponents...

I wouldn't be surprised if he demanded that the IRS start auditing far more people in blue states...

With the new tax law (2017 tax cut and jobs bill), and the confusion surrounding this bill and provisions, I wouldn't be surprised if there is some confusion on the part of taxpayers in doing their taxes.

[3Hotdogs]

2. Well, fuck yeah. Everybody knows poor people are more likely to cheat because they want more money.

Rich people got alls the money they need so they have no reason to cheat.












Yes, its sarcasm.

[murielm99]

3. We were audited about thirty-eight years ago.

My husband had suffered a severe compound fracture of his leg. He could not work. He could not farm. I had just had a baby and had no job. We had very little to live on, but I am frugal. I made ends meet.

Sure enough, the IRS audited us. The guy told us they were sure we had not reported all our income. No one could possibly live on so little. Fuck them.

[SunSeeker]

4. What a waste of resources. The IRS should prioritize auditing the rich, not the poor.

That's where the money is.

And they do this to please Southern Republican lawmakers who hate poor and black people? How is that even legal?

[Sherman A1]

5. Precisely

Even if one of the folks makes an error it will be a small one and they are not going to get a huge amount of money from the efforts.