IRS Whistleblower Office celebrates National Whistleblower Day; over $7 billion in collected proceeds thanks to whistleblowers

In anticipation of National Whistleblower Appreciation Day on July 30, the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Office today recognized the important role whistleblowers play in supporting the nation’s tax administration.

Since issuing its first award in 2007 through June 2024, the IRS has paid over $1.2 billion in awards based on the successful collection of $7 billion from non-compliant taxpayers.

“The IRS appreciates the valuable contributions that thousands of whistleblowers have made to help bolster the fair and effective enforcement of our nation’s tax laws,” said IRS Whistleblower Office Director John Hinman. “Information from whistleblowers continues to be an incredibly effective aid to IRS compliance efforts, and we are committed to improving our whistleblower program by increasing our capacity to use high-value whistleblower information effectively, awarding whistleblowers fairly and as soon as possible, and keeping whistleblowers informed of their claim’s status and the basis for IRS decisions on claims.”

The IRS Whistleblower Office is strengthening collaboration with all whistleblower program stakeholders. The office also recently updated Form 211, Application for Award for Original Information PDF, and is currently working on a digital submission portal for whistleblower claims, which it plans to have online in 2025.

In Fiscal Year 2023, the IRS paid awards totaling $88.8 million based on whistleblower information attributable to tax and other amounts collected of $338 million. In Fiscal Year 2023, the Whistleblower Office established 16,932 award claims, an increase of 44% compared to the average of the prior four years.

The IRS values the assistance it’s received from whistleblowers and the whistleblower practitioner community. Whistleblower information that the IRS can act on is an important component of effective tax administration and contributes to identifying non-compliance and reducing the tax gap.

Actionable claims contain specific, timely and credible information. A whistleblower may qualify for an award when use of the whistleblower’s information results in proceeds collected. The awards paid to whistleblowers generally range between 15 and 30% of the proceeds collected and attributable to their information.

The IRS Whistleblower Office was established in 2007 to administer claims from whistleblowers that identify taxpayers who may not be complying with tax laws or other laws the IRS administers, enforces or investigates.

National Whistleblower Appreciation Day is recognized on July 30 because America’s first whistleblower law was passed by the Continental Congress on July 30, 1778. The first law related to whistleblowers on tax violations was enacted almost 90 years later in March 1867.

Source: IRS-2024-199, July 29, 2024