How is an IRS Whistleblower Award calculated?

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How is an IRS Whistleblower Award calculated?

Once a whistleblower is eligible for an award (i.e., once the IRS has begun an administrative or judicial action based on the whistleblower’s information; and there are collected proceeds) the IRS then undertakes an award percentage computation.   

For I.R.C. § 7623(b) cases, Treas. Reg. § 301.7623-4(c) states that the IRS whistleblower Office must start the analysis at 15%.  Then applying the positive factors to the administrative claim file, the analyst can determine an award percentage increase to 22 percent and/or 30 percent.  The analyst, upon applying any negative factors, can also determine a decrease of the percentage to 26%, 22% 18% and all the way down to 15%.  

There is no exact formula to determine the award payable to a whistleblower, only guidelines the IRS will consider in determining an award.  Those guidelines are found in Treas. Reg. § 301.7623-4. 

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Remand an IRS Whistleblower Case - Right Move or Just Delaying a Decision?

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Remand an IRS Whistleblower Case - Right Move or Just Delaying a Decision?

The Court appears to reach the conclusion that the Court will just keep sending the case back to the IRS for reconsideration via a Remand when the IRS fails to adequately support its findings, or ultimately abuses its discretion. The key question here is: how many times will Congress, and the Court allow the IRS to keep getting the determination wrong?  At some point, reason suggests that the Court will have to make a real determination on whether the IRS erred in their determination and order an appropriate remedy to redress the wrong, or the Court’s review under I.R.C. § 7623(b)(4) will be meaningless.

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