The IRS closed 497,621 audits in fiscal year 2025 and recommended $26.8 billion in additional tax — but coverage is wildly uneven. About 0.36% of individual returns get examined overall, while taxpayers reporting $10 million or more have seen 7.9% examination coverage. Your real odds depend almost entirely on what your return looks like.
Every number on this page comes from the IRS’s own published data — the IRS Data Book and its compliance-presence tables — updated as new fiscal-year figures publish. We represent taxpayers in these audits (400+ and counting), so we also note where the official numbers match, or don’t match, what we see in practice.
The headline numbers (FY2025)
- 497,621 audits closed
- $26.8 billion in recommended additional tax — roughly $54,000 per closed audit on average
- 0.36% of individual returns (tax years 2015–2023) examined by end of FY2025
- 0.57% examination coverage for corporation returns
- 7.9% cumulative coverage for returns reporting $10 million+ in total positive income
How do audit rates change with income?
The short version is that the curve is U-shaped at the bottom and steep at the top. Per-year rates from recent Data Book tables:
| Total positive income | Audit rate (per 1,000 returns) |
|---|---|
| No income reported | 3 |
| $1 – $25,000 | 4 |
| $500,000+ | 6 |
| $1M – $5M | 11 |
| $10M+ (cumulative, TY2015–2023) | 79 |
The no-income and low-income rates reflect refundable-credit enforcement (EITC), done mostly by correspondence. The high-income rates reflect field examinations — longer, deeper, and with more dollars at stake.
What actually gets a return selected?
Selection is mechanical before it is human: DIF scoring flags statistical outliers, and the Automated Underreporter program matches every W-2 and 1099 against what you filed. Our audit red flags guide covers the specific items that move a DIF score, and why the IRS audits returns explains the machinery. If you’re past selection and holding a letter, start with audit defense.
Frequently asked questions
What are my actual odds of an IRS audit?
For most filers, well under half of one percent — about 0.36% of individual returns for tax years 2015–2023 had been examined by the end of FY2025. Odds climb steeply with income: returns reporting $10 million or more show 7.9% examination coverage.
Does making more money increase audit risk?
Yes, sharply. Per the IRS Data Book, recent per-year rates run roughly 4 per 1,000 for modest incomes, 6 per 1,000 above $500,000, and 11 per 1,000 between $1 million and $5 million — with cumulative coverage near 8% at $10 million and up.
How much does the average audit cost the taxpayer?
In FY2025 the IRS closed 497,621 audits recommending $26.8 billion in additional tax — averaging roughly $54,000 per closed audit. Averages are skewed by large cases, but the direction is clear: audits are about money, not paperwork.
Are audit rates going up in 2026?
Coverage of high-income returns and partnerships has been the IRS’s stated priority, while overall individual rates remain historically low. Enforcement staffing and funding shift year to year; the selection systems (DIF scoring and document matching) run regardless.
If the numbers above have become personal — a notice, an audit letter, a balance you can’t pay — book a free 15-minute call or call (619) 378-3138. We’ll tell you where you actually stand before you spend anything.
Sources: IRS Data Book (Publication 55-B), FY2025; IRS compliance-presence statistics. Figures are the most recent published as of July 2026 and are updated as new Data Book editions release.