In December 2006, a new law went into effect that dramatically strengthened the IRS's whistleblower program. Under the new program, qualified whistleblowers may be entitled to awards of up to 30% of funds that are recovered by the IRS based on information provided by the whistleblowers regarding tax schemes exceeding $2 million. More Info
The old Form 211 program permited whistleblowers to request rewards from the IRS after reporting information about individuals or entities who have underpaid taxes. Notably, however, payment of any reward by the IRS under the former Form 211 procedure is within the government’s discretion and cannot be compelled by the whistleblower. This program is still available for claims not large enough to qualify for the increased rewards under the new IRS Whistleblower Program.
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The IRS historically maintained a lesser known program commonly referred to as its Special Agreement program. The Special Agreement program provided more certainty to whistleblowers than the old Form 211 program, for it permitted them to enter into a contract with the IRS in advance of providing detailed information about the subject taxpayer and their alleged tax violations. The Special Agreement program, however, has been largely supplanted by the new IRS Whistleblower program.
The Law Offices of Paul D. Scott offers confidential consultations at no charge regarding potential claims involving underpayments of tax in excess of $2,000,000.