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Update: The IRS Whistleblower Program

By Sharon L. McCarthy
April 26, 2012

In 2006, Congress amended Section 7623 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code) and significantly enhanced the IRS Whistleblower Program with respect to claims made after Dec. 20, 2006, through the enactment of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (the TRHC
Act). Pub. L. No. 109-432, ' 406 (2006). (Along with the substantive modifications to Section 7623, the IRS also changed the name of the program from the “Informants' Reward Program” to the “Whistleblower Program.”)

New Section 7623(b) of the Internal Revenue Code provides a monetary incentive for people to report to the IRS, or blow the whistle on, those in significant tax noncompliance, by requiring the IRS to pay awards to whistleblowers if their information “substantially contributed” to the collection of proceeds. I.R.C.
' 7623(b)(1). In addition, the law established a Whistleblower Office, which operates at the direction of the Commissioner of the IRS, to administer the award program. Finally, the law created the right to appeal an award determination to the United States Tax Court. I.R.C. ' 7623(b)(4).

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