Internal Revenue Commissioner John Koskinen on Wednesday gave a National Press Club talk on the “April Madness” that is tax filing season for his employees processing form 1040s from the nation’s 152 million filers. Below are some of his eye-opening numbers:
$74 million. Amount in refunds issued so far out of 93 million 2017 returns received (average amount: $2,900)
87 percent. Share of taxpayers who file electronically
3 million. Number of 1040 forms completed by hand
500 million. Visits to IRS.gov in 2016
6 million. Visits to IRS.gov in one recent day
40 million. Number of times the IRS2Go smartphone app has been downloaded
63 million. Number of calls to IRS call centers last year
8 million. Number of letters received IRS received last year
1 million. Number of malicious cyberattacks on IRS daily
46 percent. Reduction in identify theft victims reported in 2016 compared with 2015
$6.5 billion. Amount in fraudulent refund claims on 1 million returns the IRS prevented last year
$290 million. Extra appropriations funding in 2016, which allowed IRS to hire 1,000 temps
$239 million. Amount President Trump in March proposed cutting from IRS
17,000. Number of employees IRS has lost since 2010, mostly due to budget cuts
50. Number of employees who leave IRS every week for varying reasons
1 million. Number of taxpayers audited last year, the lowest number in a decade
$30 billion. Revenue lost for each percentage point drop in taxpayer compliance rate
60 percent. Portion of IRS hardware that is out of date
28 percent. Portion of software considered obsolete
122. Number of IRS employees 25 or younger