TIGTA – Office of Investigations

Posted by Montgomery on with 0 Comment

If you are familiar with this blog then you know that one of the roles of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is to audit IRS programs and operations to ensure they are functioning properly.  And while it is certainly not their objective to extend tax relief to the masses, they must administer taxes fairly and competently.

Most of my TIGTA blog posts have to do with the TIGTA Office of Audit and their dreadfully boring reports.  But did you know that there is a separate Office within TIGTA — the Office of Investigations — that investigates and reports on much juicier topics?

According to the Office of Investigations (OI), their role is to address “threats arising from (1) lapses in IRS employee integrity, (2) violence directed against the IRS, and (3) external attempts to corruptly interfere with federal tax administration.”  In other words, the OI is responsible for nailing obstinate or potentially dangerous taxpayers and corrupt IRS employees.

Every week the OI highlights a couple new investigations complete with names, dates, dollar amounts, and all the gory details.  They keep an archive of investigation highlights going back to 2004, and updates are available by email so you can be the first to know.

Your Tax Preparer Might be an Inmate

Posted by Montgomery on with 0 Comment

It’s 10:00pm; do you know where your children are right now?  What about your tax preparer?

According to a recent TIGTA audit, the IRS approved 331 tax preparer identification numbers to individuals serving prison terms.

  • How did they do it?  In most cases the prisoners lied on their applications by not disclosing their convictions.
  • Why do they do it?  To try to defraud the IRS.  They use false or fraudulent tax returns in hopes of obtaining refunds.  Prisoners have a history of trying to defraud the government, particularly the IRS.  They have enough time on their hands and not much to lose if their scheme is unproductive.
  • What is the IRS doing about it?  The IRS has vowed to suspend tax preparer identification numbers already issued to prisoners and deny any future applications from inmates.

Chances are that these inmate preparers are not actually preparing returns for the average American consumer.  Maybe they’re doing returns for their fellow inmates.  Maybe their laying the groundwork for after their prison terms are over.  Or, even more likely, they are just seeing where this new credential will take them.  Whatever the case may be, it is usually a good idea to actually meet your tax preparer in a face-to-face meeting . . . even if just to confirm they’re working out of an office and not a prison cell.