Interesting Facts About the IRS
-When the IRS tax form 1040 was first introduced in 1914, it had only 3 pages including instructions. Today, it has 101 pages of instructions.
-The IRS requires you to declare all sources of illegal income (i.e. embezzlement)—they can’t prosecute you for the activity, but they can prosecute you if you don’t report the income.
-In 2014, 35% of all calls to the IRS went unanswered by the IRS customer service division.
-The IRS has instructions for employees on how to collect taxes after a nuclear war.
-The IRS had to use a special computer to process Bill Gates’ taxes because “their normal computers can’t deal with those numbers.”
-The goodie “swag” bags given to guests at the Academy Awards are so expensive the IRS requires the guests to declare them as taxable income.
-The IRS website has over 1,977 different forms and publications, and the tax code is approximately 3.7 million words in length.
-The IRS can audit you up to 3 years after your taxes were filed and up to 6 years if you underreported your income by at least 25%. If you are suspected of fraud the limit is indefinite.
About the Author
Gregory McCauley Jr., Esq.
Tax Attorney · Villanova University School of Law · Admitted in Delaware, New Jersey, United States Tax Court
Gregory McCauley Jr. is an experienced tax attorney who has personally represented more than 1,000 clients in matters ranging from civil tax controversy and IRS examinations to criminal tax defense, U.S. Tax Court litigation, and complex business disputes. His practice is built on a foundation his c...
