The IRS just completely revised the Application for Reward for Original Information, better known to us as Form 211. The procedures for filing the Form 211 have changed as well. The revised and significantly expanded Form 211, attached at the bottom of this post, was posted on the IRS Forms page yesterday and features 10 more sections than the original Form and asks far more detailed questions of whistleblowers. For example, the new question 10 lists eight specific areas of tax law asking the whistleblower to check off the area that applies to the information. Similarly, the new question 14 asks the whistleblower to check off the applicable relationship status the whistleblower has with the non-compliant taxpayer listing categories such as: current employee, former employee, and relative, or “attorney” and “CPA”, which should help the IRS conduct their taint reviews.
The new Form 211 inverted the familiar sections by moving information about the non-compliant taxpayer to the top of the form and the whistleblower’s information to the bottom. Meanwhile, other familiar sections are now followed up with more specific questions. For instance, the “amount of tax owed” in question 19 is now followed by five spaces where the whistleblower is to indicate, in question 20, the tax year and the amount owed for each year. It’s important to note here that although the form lists five spaces for tax years, whistleblowers should always keep in mind that under section 6501, absent an exception, the general rule is that the tax shall be assessed within three years after the return was filed.
Procedurally, the new Form 211 reflects a big change in how the Whistleblower Office processes newly filed forms 211. First and foremost, the new Form 211 will not be sent to the Whistleblower Office in Washington, D.C. Instead, Form 211 is now being sent to an office in Ogden, Utah. A second procedural change comes by way of new question 9, which asks the whistleblower to specify whether it is a “new submission” or a “supplemental submission.” This question suggests that a new Form 211 should be completed anytime a supplemental submission is filed. On that point, tax partners Scott Knott and Gregory Lynam have routinely wondered why new submissions had to be made under penalties of perjury yet supplemental submissions did not.
At first glance, the new Form 211 appears very different from the original and potential whistleblowers should take their time reading the instructions before attempting to answer the questions. As always, The Ferraro Law Firm tax team is here as a resource.
Recent Comments