Analysis: If you live on the Big Island, you’re more likely to get audited by the IRS

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An IRS audit is never fun.

And it turns out, the residents in some counties are more likely to get audited than others.

That’s according to a new analysis from ProPublica, which found that Big Island residents are more likely to face an IRS audit than any other place in the islands.

The site for investigative journalism found that for every 1,000 tax filings on the Big Island, an estimated 8.1 filings were audited. The national rate: 7.7 audits per 1,000.

Oahu’s rate was 7.2 audits for every 1,000 filings.

It was 7.6 in Maui County, and 7.5 in Kauai County.

ProPublica found that some counties in the United States saw significantly higher audit rates than elsewhere. And some of the counties that faced that most intense scrutiny were predominantly poor.

Why look at poor counties?

Part of the disparity, experts say, is linked to a push to identify incorrect payments of the earned income tax credit, which poor families are eligible for.

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