“I’m telling on you.”
I used to say that to my older brother whenever he did something I knew my parents would disapprove of. I was eight years old then. I didn’t get any monetary reward for it, though. Just the vindictive satisfaction a younger brother gets when he sees his older brother – the one who gets to do everything before him – get in trouble.
Adult tattletales get better treatment. The IRS will pay you to rat on your “brother.”
The IRS has expanded it’s whistleblower program and will pay up to 30% of the additional tax, penalty and interest it collects from the identified taxpayer if it uses the information provided by the whistleblower.
The award will be paid to anyone who provides “specific and credible” information that results in the IRS’s collection of taxes, penalties and interest from a noncompliant taxpayer.
The IRS says it is,
[L]ooking for solid information, not an “educated guess” or unsupported speculation. We are also looking for a significant Federal tax issue – this is not a program for resolving personal problems or disputes about a business relationship.
The law provides for two types of awards.
First, if the taxes, penalties, interest and other amounts in dispute exceed $2 million the IRS will pay 15 percent to 30 percent of the amount collected. If the case deals with an individual, his or her annual gross income must be more than $200,000. If the whistleblower disagrees with the outcome of the claim, he or she can appeal to the Tax Court.
These rules are found at Internal Revenue Code IRC Section 7623(b).
Second, is a program for those who do not meet the dollar threshholds of $2 million in dispute or cases involving individual taxpayers with gross income of less that $200,000. This aware provides for a maximum payment to the whistleblower of 15 percent up to $10 million. The second type of aware is wholly discretionary and the informant cannot dispute the outcome of the claim in Tax Court. The rules for these cases are found at Internal Revenue Code IRC Section 7623(a).
You can apply for a whistleblower award by using IRS Form 211. The same form is used for both award programs.
Before you decide to apply, however, be warned that the program does not provide for immunity from civil suit. Consequently, if you tell on someone and the information you provide to the IRS is determined to be false, you can be sued for slander. Don’t expect the IRS to help you if that happens.
3 responses so far ↓
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2 IRS Whistleblower Program Going Gangbusters // Oct 2, 2009 at 1:53 pm
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