The Internal Revenue Service audited 18.4 percent of taxpayers reporting income above $10 million last year, up from 10.6 percent the previous year.
Audit rates increased in 2010 for all income groups, except for people with no adjusted gross income, according to data released today in Washington for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
Highest earners had the sharpest increases in audit rates. The IRS audited 11.6 percent of taxpayers reporting adjusted gross income between $5 million and $10 million, up from 7.5 percent the year before. Taxpayers making between $75,000 and $100,000 faced the least chance of an audit, with a 0.64 percent rate.
The overall audit rate for income tax returns was 1.l1 percent, up from 1 percent the year before.
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