Americans owe the IRS $688 billion in unpaid taxes, underscoring need for more audits, said IRS Commissioner.

Americans failed to pay $688 billion in taxes on their 2021 returns, a record level, according to a new estimate from the IRS. The agency said that it is taking "urgent" steps to increase compliance such as auditing more high-income taxpayers as well as businesses and partnerships.

The $688 billion estimate reflects the first time the IRS is providing information about the so-called tax gap on an annual basis, with the agency noting in a Thursday statement that it plans to continue providing the data on a yearly basis. The number reflects an increase of more than $138 billion from estimates for tax years 2017 to 2019, the agency said.

  • Empricorn@feddit.nl
    61·
    1 year ago

    I like them saying they'll do it. I'll like it even more if they actually do! There's a reason they target lower income people without scummy lawyers on retainer: doing the right thing (and funding our government) is hard. We'll be watching…