Tax Scams: How to Report Them
Participating in an illegal scheme to avoid paying taxes can result in imprisonment and fines, as well as the repayment of taxes owed with penalties and interest. If you become aware of any abusive tax scams, please report them to the appropriate contact below.
Reporting Tax Scams
Phishing Scams
Phishing is a scam typically carried out through unsolicited email or websites that pose as legitimate sites and lure unsuspecting victims to provide personal and financial information.
Report all unsolicited email claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or an IRS-related function to phishing@irs.gov. If you've experienced any monetary losses due to an IRS-related incident, please report it to the Link opens in a new windowTreasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through its Link opens in a new windowComplaint Assistant to make the information available to investigators.
Promoters of Abusive Tax Schemes or Preparers of Fraudulent Returns
Common abusive tax scams include anti-tax law, home-based business, trust, and off-shore schemes. To report promoters of these scheme types or any other types you are aware of that are not listed here, please send a Link opens in a new windowcompleted referral form (PDF), along with any promotional materials to the Lead Development Center.
Mail: Internal Revenue Service Lead Development Center
Stop MS5040
24000 Avila Road
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677-3405
Fax: (877) 477-9135
Abusive Transaction Involving a Retirement Plan
The Abusive Transaction Hotline provides people a way to share information (anonymously, if preferred) about abusive tax shelters and emerging issues that may be abusive in retirement plans. Find out which listed transactions have been determined by the IRS to be tax avoidance transactions and how to report them: Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/ep-abusive-tax-transactions.
Abusive Transaction Involving an Exempt Organization
Exempt organizations are, at times, used by for-profit entities as accommodation parties in abusive tax-avoidance transactions. Visit the Exempt Organization Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions page for information on how to report these schemes using Form 13909, Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral) Form: Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/eo-abusive-tax-avoidance-transactions.
Abusive Tax Shelters and Transactions
The IRS maintains an Link opens in a new windowabusive tax shelter hotline that people can use to provide information (anonymously, if preferred) about abusive tax shelters. The Office of Tax Shelter Analysis is primarily interested in potentially abusive transactions that may be employed by many taxpayers and could pose a significant compliance risk to the IRS.
How do you report suspected tax-fraud activity?
- This quick-reference chart outlines how to report suspected tax-fraud activity in different situations: Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-you-report-suspected-tax-fraud-activity.
- State ID Theft Resources lists state information on what to do if you or your employees are victims of identity theft: Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.taxadmin.org/state-id-theft-resources.
- Employers and tax professionals should notify states of any disclosures of W-2s or other identity information by emailing StateAlert@taxadmin.org.
U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). (Updated 2019, August 8). Tax scams: How to report them. Retrieved December 11, 2019, from https://www.irs.gov