IRS Audits of Individuals Reached Lowest Rate Since 2005

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service audited 0.96 percent of individual tax returns in fiscal 2013, declining for the second straight year and reaching the lowest rate since 2005.

The tax agency, which has lost $1 billion in annual funding and 8,000 employees over the past three years, increased the revenue it collected from tax enforcement by 6.3 percent to $53 billion last fiscal year, according to data released today.