IRS Releases 2012 Data Book

The report describes activities conducted by the IRS from Oct. 1, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012, and includes information about returns filed, taxes collected, enforcement, taxpayer assistance and the IRS budget and workforce, among others.

During fiscal year 2012, the IRS collected almost $2.5 trillion in federal revenue and processed 237 million returns, of which almost 145 million were filed electronically. Out of the 146 million individual income tax returns filed, almost 81 percent were e-filed. More than 120 million individual income tax return filers received a tax refund, which totaled almost $322.7 billion. On average, the IRS spent 48 cents to collect $100 in tax revenue during the fiscal year, the lowest cost since 2008.

The IRS examined just under one percent of all tax returns filed and about one percent of all individual income tax returns during fiscal year 2012. Of the 1.5 million individual tax returns examined, nearly 54,000 resulted in additional refunds. The IRS provided taxpayer assistance through 372 million visits to IRS.gov and assisted almost 97 million taxpayers through its toll-free telephone helpline or at walk-in sites.

An electronic version of the 2012 IRS Data Book can also be found on the Tax Stats page of IRS.gov.

Printed copies of the IRS Data Book, Publication 55B, will be available by mid-April 2012 from the U.S. Government Printing Office. To obtain a copy, write to the Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954, or call (202) 512-1800 for voicemail, or fax a request to (202) 512-2250.