Random IRS Audits Focus on 11 States

If you’re poor and live in the South, you might want to check that federal income tax return very carefully before sending it off to the Internal Revenue Service. A General Accounting Office study found that 47% of randomly audited taxpayers over the last three years live in 11 Southern states. And more than 85% of those audited nationwide had incomes below $25,000. Random audits are restricted to groups the IRS has suspicions about, one of which comprises low-income working families who claim the earned income tax credit. To qualify for that credit, a couple with one child must earn less than $25,760.