Turn in a Tax Cheat, get a reward
By SJW
December 20, 2006 • Fact checked by Dumb Little Man
Did you know that the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) pays rewards for snitching on tax cheats. It’s as simple as completing a 1 page, simple form. One of our readers sent in the details of this policy and to be honest with you, the payout is pretty good although you may have to wait a while for it.
- Read [PDF] IRS publication 733. Here are a few highlights:
- You can report dead people (seriously, they will go after the estate).
- If you don’t want to fill out any forms, you can call 1-800-829-0433 and report the person verbally.
- For very specific information (i.e. you know bank account numbers, exacts, etc.) you may receive 15% of the recovered amount up to $10 MILLION (yes, $10,000,000).
- For information that helped but was not very specific, you still receive 15% of the recovered amount up to $10 million.
- For information that helped start an investigation but had no relevance to the findings, you still get 1% of the recovered amount.
- From what I’ve seen, the process takes 2-5 years to conclude.
- Fill out US Form 211.
I can’t believe it but that is the entire process. A whopping 2 steps. Ironically, the IRS makes is totally difficult to pay your taxes but makes it very simple for someone to rat you out. I actually have a certain lawyer in mind that may need to get reported because I know he never claimed the $800 he defrauded me out of.
In case you are curious, the picture is of Al Capone, a notorious Chicago gangster finally brought to justice because, of all things, tax evasion.