Black Americans more likely to be audited by the IRS than any other race

Black Americans are up to five times more likely to have their federal tax returns audited than taxpayers of other races, according to a new study released this week. 

With the IRS now accepting tax returns, the study provides evidence that some Americans have a greater risk of seeing an audit, a process that often delays refund checks. 

The higher audit rate for Black taxpayers is due to a flawed AI algorithm relied on by the IRS to decide who gets audited, the study's authors said. The study, which taps data from more than 148 million anonymous returns and 780,000 audits, offers suggestions for how the IRS might fix the disparity, including focusing on auditing filers with complicated returns.