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September 01, 1997
IRS by the Numbers
Returns / Revenues
Every year the number of tax returns filed by American taxpayers increases, as do the
gross collections the IRS brings into the federal government.
Year Gross Collections Returns Filed Indiv. Returns
FY-90 $ 1.056 Trillion 201.7 million 112.5 million
FY-91 $ 1.087 Trillion 203.7 million 114.1 million
FY-92 $ 1.121 Trillion 204.1 million 115.0 million
FY-93 $ 1.177 Trillion 207.4 million 114.2 million
FY-94 $ 1.276 Trillion 205.0 million 114.9 million
FY-95 $ 1.376 Trillion 205.7 million 116.3 million
FY-96 $ 1.487 Trillion 208.9 million 118.8 million
Individual Income Tax Returns (through first week of September)
The vast majority of taxpayers have only one interaction with the Internal Revenue
Service in the course of a year -- filing their tax return and receiving their refund.
1996 1997
Returns received: 116,837,000 118,757,000
Refunds sent: 78,274,000 80,583,000
Amount refunded: $ 95.589 Billion $ 102.576 Billion
Average refund: $ 1,222 $ 1,273
Electronic Filing
Since 1986 the IRS has been making it easier for taxpayers to file returns by offering
them an array of choices in the way they can file, including electronic filing -- either
through return preparers or from personal computers -- and TeleFile, the file-by-phone
system. Since 1992 taxpayers in some states have been able to file both their state
and federal returns in one transmission.
Standard ELF TeleFile Fed/State
1986 25,000 ------ ------
1987 78,000 ------ ------
1988 583,000 ------ ------
1989 1,161,000 ------ ------
1990 4,193,000 ------ ------
1991 7,575,000 ------ ------
1992 10,924,000 126,000 156,000
1993 12,342,000 149,000 600,000
1994 13,510,000 519,000 1,130,000
1995 11,143,000 680,000 1,554,000
1996 12,139,000 2,840,000 3,165,000
1997* 14,447,000 4,694,000 4,318,000
(* as of Sept. 5)
Taxpayer Service
IRS continues to make it easier for taxpayers to get the information and answers they
need in order to file their returns and get information about their tax accounts.
FY-92 FY-93 FY-94 FY-95 FY-96
# Assisted (Total) 75.4 M 73.4 M 73.3 M 107.9 M 104.8 M
-- Toll-free 35.7 M 36.2 M 35.5 M 39.2 M 45.1 M
-- TeleTax 32.3 M 30.1 M 30.7 M 61.0 M 53.3 M
-- Walk-In/Corres 7.4 M 7.1 M 7.1 M 7.7 M 6.4 M
Toll-free Access 69.7% 60.4% 53.1% 38.8% 46.0%
Toll-free Accuracy 88.4% 88.7% 90.1% 91% 91%
IRS Budget and Staffing
The increase in IRS workload in terms of returns filed, revenue collected, and
taxpayers assisted has been accomplished while the IRS budget has declined in recent
years and the size of the workforce has decreased.
FY-91 FY-92 FY-93 FY-94 FY-95 FY-96 FY-97
Budget $6.11B $6.68B $7.11B $7.35B $7.48B $7.35B $7.22B
Staff 114,628 116,673 113,460 110,748 112,024 106,351 102,100
Tax Gap Estimates - Tax Year 1992
Each year the size of the individual income tax gap increases. The tax gap is the
difference between taxes owed and taxes Americans pay voluntarily and timely in any
tax year.
Nonfiling $ 13.5 - 13.8 Billion
Underreporting $ 71.3 - 73.1 Billion
Underpayment $ 8.4 Billion
Gross Tax Gap $ 93.2 - 95.3 Billion
Accounts Receivable Delinquency Inventory (ARDI)
The IRS maintains an inventory of delinquent accounts receivable -- money that is
owed the government. By law, accounts must be kept on IRS’s books for 10 years,
whether collectible or not. For 1996 about half of the gross receivable total is
considered currently not collectible for various reasons, including personal hardship
FY-96 ARDI ($ in billions)
Gross ARDI $ 216.3
Pending court action 18.4
Deferred 1.6
Notices 10.8
Installment Agreement 13.4
Available for Collection 40.8
Trust Fund 16.9
Currently Not Collectible 105.8
Currently Not Collectible $ 105.8
Defunct Corporations 32.8
Deceased taxpayer 3.0
Bankrupt 9.7
Hardship 29.2
Unable to locate 5.8
Unable to contact 3.3
RTC 18.4
NonMaster File 3.0
Other 0.3
Options Offered in the Collection Process
Taxpayers who are unable to pay the full tax they owe have several alternatives -- they
can set up an installment arrangement or seek an offer in compromise. IRS has
modified procedures to make thse alternatives easier to use.
Installment Agreements
Year # Taxpayers # Modules $ to IAs
FY-91 1,111,470 1,770,297 3,868,792,000
FY-92 1,516,556 2,504,219 5,664,528,000
FY-93 2,543,763 3,946,047 8,500,285,000
FY-94 2,688,673 4,420,014 8,420,032,000
FY-95 2,501,955 4,395,258 10,567,841,000
FY-96 2,670,705 4,769,627 12,142,916,000
Offers-in-Compromise
($ in millions)
FY-91 FY-92 FY-93 FY-94 FY-95 FY-96
Received 8,711 17,749 49,954 52,127 58,720 60,893
# Accepted 1,995 4,356 18,020 25,017 26,668 27,673
% Accepted 25% 45% 53% 50% 49% 48%
$ Accepted 37 106 209 281 297 287
$ Total tax owed 140 661 1,377 1,634 1,856 2,169
Collection Yield on Delinquent Accounts
Using the collection tools that Congress has given it, IRS collections of taxes owed the
federal government have increased in recent years and have become more efficient,
thanks in part to the increased use of installment agreements and offers in compromise
FY-92 FY-93 FY-94 FY-95 FY-96
$ collected $24.23 B $22.81 B $23.45 B $25.15 B $29.78 B
% change (prior-yr) -0.2% -5.9% 2.8% 7.2% 18.4%
Examinations (Audits)
While the number of returns filed each year has grown, the number and percentage of
returns examined has remained relatively constant. In fact, taxpayers who report
income for which there is matching third-party data filed with the IRS have very little
likelihood of being audited.
Audit Coverage Rates
(Income Tax Returns)
INDIVIDUAL RETURNS CORPORATE RETURNS
FY Percent # Audits Percent # Audits
1991 1.17 1,313,168 2.52 67,618
1992 1.06 1,206,019 3.04 79,597
1993 0.92 1,058,966 3.05 79,873
1994 1.08 1,225,707 2.31 58,110
1995 1.67 1,919,437 2.05 51,808
1996 1.67 1,941,540 2.34 59,832
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