Taxpayers are disproportionately afraid of the IRS, and this is because very few taxpayers actually end up in jail for tax evasion. IRS resources are dwindling, which means fewer prosecutions. For example, in 2015, the IRS indicted 1,330 taxpayers for legal-source tax evasion, and by 2018 that number dropped to 636. That’s out of around 150 million taxpayers. With funding dropping and the number of revenue agents decreasing, we can expect this trend to continue. However, the IRS does know what to look for to make the most out of the resources they do have: concealed income (like from a side hustle), misreported credits and deductions, and unfiled returns will get their attention every time. www.accountingtoday.com/list/ten-major-trends-in-irs-tax-audits
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