IRS whistleblower awards tick up

The Internal Revenue Service awarded whistleblowers more money last year than in the previous fiscal year, though the amount still fell short of some previous years' awards.

The Fiscal Year 22 report from the IRS Whistleblower Office said the agency paid whistleblowers 132 awards (out of 396 claims) totaling $37.8 million from proceeds collected of $172.7 million. The total dollar amount of awards paid increased from FY21, when $36.1 million in awards were paid.

The number of awards paid in FY 2022, however, dropped from 179 in FY 2021 to 132 in FY 2022.

The number is also down from previous years, observers have said. Whistleblower Program operations continued to be impacted by the COVID pandemic, the report noted.

Among other details:

• Awards paid as a percentage of proceeds collected increased from 14.7% in FY 2021 to 21.9% in FY 2022.
• The most commonly reported infractions were unreported/underreported income, failure to file a tax or information return, underreported wages, and general allegations of fraud.
• The East Coast had the greatest number of whistleblowers, followed by the Central and Western regions.

The report noted that rules on access to and disclosure of taxpayer information could protect taxpayers more; that clarification is needed on submitting information and claiming awards; and that information-sharing within the government could enhance the ability to use information and pay awards, among other things.

[The release of the report comes amid continuing news about a pair of IRS agent whistleblowers who have claimed the Justice Department slowed down investigations of Hunter Biden's taxes before the president's son agreed to a plea deal to resolve tax and gun charges (see story). IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel informed employees in a new memo Friday about their constitutional and statutory right to make protected disclosures to Congress.]