IRS Whistleblower Program

Lawyers Helping IRS Whistleblowers Protect Their Interests

In the United States, most people and businesses that earn revenue must pay taxes. While there are numerous lawful ways to reduce tax liability, people and companies do employ fraudulent tactics to avoid paying taxes. Violations of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) harm the federal government and infringe on the rights of all taxpayers. Still, it can be difficult for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to identify all taxpayer abuses. The IRS, therefore, instituted a whistleblower reward program to help encourage parties to report tax underpayments. Under that program, whistleblowers may be awarded a percentage of the IRS’s recovery from the taxpayer. If you have information regarding another party’s failure to pay taxes, you should contact an attorney to discuss your options. Collectively, the trusted IRS whistleblower lawyers of Pugsley Wood, LLP, have decades of experience representing whistleblowers in a variety of claims, and if you engage our services, we will work tirelessly on your behalf.

Acts You Can Report Under the IRS Whistleblower Program

IRS whistleblowers is the phrase used to describe people who provide the IRS with information regarding another party’s underpayment of taxes or other violations of the IRC. Under the IRC, IRS whistleblowers may recover monetary awards if their information leads to the recovery of funds from someone who violated the law.

Notably, an IRS whistleblower may report any underpayment of taxes, regardless of whether or not the failure to pay the amount owed was intentional. Acts that often trigger IRS whistleblower reports include hiding assets, keeping false records or multiple sets of books, and underreporting earnings or overstating deductions. Stock fraud, improper diversion of assets to offshore accounts, and abuse of trusts can constitute grounds for filing an IRS whistleblower claim as well.

We help individuals reporting violations of the IRC to prepare and file the appropriate forms and provide certain information to the IRS.

Eligibility for IRS Whistleblower Award

The information a whistleblower provides to the IRS must be “original” to qualify for an award. In other words, there can be no award if the IRS already had the whistleblower’s information, regardless of whether it leads to a sanction against the party for tax law violations. Typically, you must provide information regarding tax fraud or underpayments that exceed $2 million, including penalties and interest. If the report pertains to an individual, their yearly income must exceed $200,000 for you to obtain an award. Certain parties are ineligible to recover IRS whistleblower awards, including those who are required by federal law to report such violations and parties who obtained the information they reported due to a contract with the federal government.

Typically, the IRS pays eligible whistleblowers an award between 15% and 30% of the amount collected based on the information they submitted. The amount decreases if the information in question was available from a public source, or if the whistleblower took part in the actions that led to the failure to comply with the IRC.

Confer with a Capable Whistleblower Attorney Today

Parties have the right to reduce their tax liability through lawful measures, but when they engage in fraud or other illegal tactics to avoid paying the taxes they rightfully owe, they should be held responsible. If you know that another party has underpaid their taxes, you should confer with an attorney to discuss whether you may be able to file an IRS whistleblower report. At Pugsley Wood, LLP, our capable lawyers are proficient at helping people evaluate and pursue a variety of whistleblower cases, and we can help you strive for the best legal outcome possible under the circumstances. We have offices in Boston and Salt Lake City, and we represent people in IRS whistleblower matters throughout the United States. You can contact us via our online form or by calling our toll free number – (855) 550-8300 – to set up a confidential and complementary conference.