The IRS Whistleblower Office recently released its 2025 Operating Plan, detailing its strategy for improving its whistleblower program. According to IRS Whistleblower Office Director John Hinman, the Operating Plan “incorporates extensive feedback received from whistleblowers, whistleblower practitioners, IRS employees, oversight bodies and other program stakeholders.”
The Operating Plan includes the following six strategic priorities:
- Improve the claim submission process to promote greater efficiency.
- Use high-value whistleblower information effectively.
- Award whistleblowers fairly and as soon as possible.
- Keep whistleblowers informed of the status of their claims and the basis for IRS decisions on claims.
- Safeguard whistleblower and taxpayer information.
- Ensure that the Office’s workforce is supported with effective tools, technology, training and other resources.
Accompanying these priorities are 38 initiatives that address short-term and long-term focus areas. The Whistleblower Office maintains that the initiatives aim to strengthen tax compliance and enforcement by improving the processing of whistleblower claims, increasing transparency, and fostering collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
Addressing Issues with Claim Processing
A central focus of the Operating Plan is the improvement of claim processing efficiency to reduce the time between claim receipt and award determination. For example, the Whistleblower Office is developing an online digital intake portal for whistleblower claims, with plans to launch it this year. This portal is expected to permit whistleblowers and counsel to submit the Form 211 (Application for Award for Original Information) electronically and streamline the submission process, making it more accessible and efficient for whistleblowers. The Office also proposes to explore improving content and functionality on the Whistleblower Office’s IRS.gov page and expanding claim processing in languages other than English.
The Operating Plan emphasizes the adoption of advanced data analytics to assess and prioritize whistleblower submissions. The Whistleblower Office plans to use new data analytic approaches to identify any backlogs where claims could be moved to the next claim processing stage. Where backlogs are identified, the Whistleblower Office notes that it will create a plan to address and eliminate such backlogs.
Improving Collaboration and Transparency
The Whistleblower Office also plans to improve partnerships with other divisions of the IRS and external agencies. This integrated approach is intended to facilitate the sharing of information and resources, thereby increasing the effectiveness of investigations stemming from whistleblower tips. Plans include pursuing strategic efforts to collaborate regularly with Treasury’s Chief Counsel attorneys throughout the IRS, including attorneys who support field compliance efforts and litigation, Procedure and Administration attorneys, and General Legal Services attorneys.
Transparency has been a longstanding issue with the IRS Whistleblower Program. The Operating Plan outlines initiatives to provide more timely and informative updates to whistleblowers and their counsel regarding the status of claims, within the constraints of legal confidentiality requirements. This approach, according to the Whistleblower Office, is intended to improve trust and encourage continued participation in the program.
A Plan at Odds with IRS Workforce Cuts?
While these priorities and initiatives are welcome news, it is unclear how these optimistic plans will mesh with reported IRS plans that would dramatically slash the agency’s workforce. Since, January, the agency has already laid off about 7,000 IRS workers, including many enforcement staff. These workforce reductions could undercut the ambitious goals of the Operating Plan and highlight the growing importance of complementary efforts at the state level.
New York and the District of Columbia already expressly allow whistleblowers to bring cases involving tax law violations under their respective False Claims Acts, and California is considering expanding its False Claims Act to extend to whistleblower reports about tax law violations. Several other states have laws that allow whistleblower actions targeting some or all types of tax fraud. If federal resources become even more strained, there could be a potential shift in tax fraud enforcement from federal to state jurisdictions. While states can pursue only state and local tax violations, their efforts can spur the IRS, which has enforcement power over federal tax obligations, to take action.
If you have information about possible tax evasion and would like to speak to an experienced whistleblower attorney, contact Phillips & Cohen for a confidential review of your matter.
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