The IRS audited fewer high-income taxpayers in 2013 than it did the previous year, according to the IRS 2013 Fiscal Year Data Book.
At the same time, it increased the percentage of returns it audited for people reporting no income.
During fiscal year 2013, Oct. 2012 through September 2013, the IRS processed 240 million tax returns and 0.96 percent were audited, a decline from the 1.03 percent of returns audited the previous fiscal year.
There was a decrease in the percent of high net worth individuals who were audited. For individuals with $10 million or more in adjusted gross income, the percentage audited dropped from 27.37 percent in 2012 to 24.16 last year.
Likewise, for those with $5 million to $10 million, the percentage audited dropped from 17.94 percent to 15.98 percent.
For the next lowest tier, individuals with $1 million to $5 million, the percentage audited grew slightly from 8.9 percent to 9.02.
The percentage audited more than doubled for those reporting no adjusted gross income, from 2.67 percent to 6.04 percent.
The wealthiest Americans have traditionally been the most likely to be audited but budget cuts in recent years have hampered many IRS operations, according to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The budget was cut this year by about 4 percent.
