The Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Program is found in the United States Code at 26 U.S.C. § 7623. Since 2006, this federal law requires the IRS to make payments to whistleblowers whose information leads to the recovery of taxpayer dollars against those who commit tax fraud. A whistleblower can be anyone who brings original information about tax fraud to the attention of the IRS.
The IRS established a dedicated whistleblower office in 2007 and has awarded more than $1 billion to whistleblowers since then.
Payments to whistleblowers under the IRS Whistleblower Program occur only if the IRS collects an amount in excess of $2 million from an entity (such as a corporation) or an individual with an adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more during the relevant tax period.
When these thresholds are met, the whistleblower is generally entitled to between 15 and 30 percent of the collected proceeds (including penalties, interest, additions to tax and other amounts). This amount rewards the whistleblower for reporting tax fraud.
As an IRS whistleblower, you do not file a lawsuit. Instead, you must submit Form 211 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Though the IRS Whistleblower Program does not require a whistleblower to have an attorney or to submit information to the IRS through an attorney, there are significant benefits to hiring a qualified, nationally respected law firm to assist in your submission. As a supplement to the Form 211, a qualified attorney will draft a more comprehensive submission to the IRS on your behalf and will assist in examining the relevant tax law and your own potential exposure, if any. Find out more about how to choose a whistleblower attorney.
Fill out the form for a free consultation before bringing a claim to the IRS.
Hagens Berman represents several whistleblower actions under the IRS Whistleblower Program, and marshals its significant nationwide resources and expertise in financial fraud matters – including attorneys who are also accountants and licensed forensic accountants – to best present whistleblower matters to the IRS.
