Why would the irs waste time going after a few hundred dollars when they are understaffed and the return on investment for that is so low? How many poor people do you know who have been audited? Or a better question- who do rich people fear and despise the most? (The IRS, of course) They look for taxpayers who generate red flags like excessive or unlikely deductions to reduce very high dollar tax liabilities, they aren’t wasting time on poor people.