IRS to Start Charging for Individual Tax Stats

The Internal Revenue Service announced that it will now sell individual income tax return statistics by zip code -- charging $25 per state, or $500 for the entire nation.In previous years, the data, based on addresses shown on the returns when filed with IRS, had been made available for free. Zip code tables for both the 2002 and 2004 tax years are available for purchase.

Information broken out in the tables includes:

  • Number of returns filed;
  • Number of exemptions;
  • Adjusted gross income, as well as salary and wages;
  • Dividends and net capital gains;
  • Adjustments to income for payments made to an IRA and self-employed pensions;
  • Total itemized deductions, including charitable contributions deductions; and,
  • The number of returns prepared by paid preparers.

An Excel sheet containing a sample of the available data, for a North Dakota zip code with just over 300,000 taxpayers, can be accessed at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/04zipcde.xls. More information is available by contacting the SOI Statistical Information Services Office at (202) 874-0410, or by emailing sis@irs.gov.

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