Reporting a company or individual for tax fraud is not only the right thing to do, it could also benefit you financially as whistleblowers may be entitled to a percentage of the recovered funds. However, filing a tax fraud claim with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a complicated process that could take years to complete. This is why you could greatly benefit from hiring a Cincinnati tax fraud lawyer to represent you. He or she can manage your case from start to finish, protecting your best interests. Schedule a free, no obligation consultation today to review your situation. Our whistleblower attorneys can determine if you have grounds for a whistleblower claim, as the IRS has specific filing requirements.
Types Of Tax Fraud
If you know about any individual, company or other entity committing any of the following types of tax fraud, our team may be able to file a claim on your behalf to pursue compensation:- Not reporting income to the IRS
- Failing to pay taxes
- Claiming deductions or exemptions that do not exist
- Showing willful intent to withhold tax payments from the government
- Claiming exemptions or deductions if the individual or company does not qualify for them
- Overstating the amount of a deduction or exemption
- Making untrue statements in records
- Having two different sets of books
- Abuse of deductions for charitable donations
- Failing to file a tax return
- Not reporting income earned through investments
- Misusing money from a trust
- Hiding assets or income
- Deducting kickbacks, which are payments to another party to induce them to provide a product or service or facilitate a transaction
- Submitting false or altered tax documents with the intent to defraud the IRS
Laws On Tax Fraud Claims
There are two sections of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) that allow whistleblowers to file claims and potentially receive a portion of the funds recovered by the IRS: IRC 7623(a) and IRC 7623(b). IRC 7623(b) covers cases where the amount of money in dispute is greater than $2 million. If the case involves an individual, his or her gross income cannot exceed $200,000 for any year at issue in the case. IRC 7623(a) covers any whistleblower claims not covered by IRC 7623(b).Types Of Claims That Will Not Be Processed
Certain types of claims will not be processed under either section of the IRC, including claims filed by:- Individuals who are employees of the Department of Treasury
- Individuals acting within the scope of their duties as federal, state or local government employees
- Individuals required by federal law or regulations to disclose information
- Individuals precluded by federal law or regulation from disclosing information relevant to the case
- Individuals who obtained or were given information about fraud while acting in an official capacity as a member of a state body or commission having access to things like federal tax returns, copies or abstracts
- Individuals who had access to taxpayer information arising out of a contract with the federal government, if the contract is the basis of the claim
- Have no merit or sufficient information that is specific and credible
- Were submitted anonymously or using an alias
- Claims filed by an entity and not an individual, such as a corporation or partnership
Compensation For Reporting Tax Fraud
If your case leads to judicial or administrative action, such as an audit or investigation resulting in the collection of proceeds, you may be entitled to a portion of the recovered funds that will be based on additions to taxes, penalties, interest and other amounts collected from administrative or judicial action. If you are filing a claim under IRC 7623(b), our tax fraud lawyers in Cincinnati may be able to recover between 15 and 30 percent of the recovered funds. There is no limit on the dollar amount of your award. However, you can only recover up to 10 percent of the funds if the case was principally based on the disclosure of specific allegations resulting from:- News media reports
- The whistleblower planning and initiating non-compliance with IRS regulations
- Judicial or administrative hearings
- A government report, hearing, audit or investigation
Submitting A Claim For An Award
The whistleblower claim process starts when you notify the IRS about tax fraud. You can initiate a claim for a whistleblower award by filing IRS Form 211, Application for Award for Original Information. Your Cincinnati tax fraud attorney can help ensure the form contains the following information:- Description of the amount of money due to the IRS and a description of the issues in the case
- Evidence to support the description of the case, such as location of assets, copies of records, ledger sheets, receipts, bank records and emails
- Description of evidence not in your possession or control and its location
- An explanation of how you became aware of tax fraud
- A description of your current or former relationship with the subject of the claim
- Your signature noting you can be penalized for perjury
- You being contacted by a subject matter expert to ensure the IRS fully understands the information on your application
- The Whistleblower Office sending you a denial letter because it does not want to pursue a case
- Forwarding your application for examination and investigation
