The American system of taxation is based on the premise that all income is taxable (which includes illegally earned income). In many instances, proving that a taxpayer willfully attempted to hide income from the Federal Government is an integral part of proving other criminal activity including fraud, money laundering or Bank Secrecy Act violations. Criminal Investigation continues to fulfill the important role of helping to ensure the integrity and fairness of our nations' tax system. IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad. Annual Business Report The Annual Business Report showcases some of the many significant investigations that were completed by Criminal Investigation (CI) during the fiscal year and highlights the many program areas. Initiating an investigation IRS special agents must follow strict procedures to initiate an investigation and recommend prosecution to the Department of Justice. These procedures include approval by several IRS officials to ensure investigations are based on factual evidence that tax fraud or another financial crime has occurred. Internal Revenue Manual IRM Part 9. Criminal Investigation Executive Order on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing, and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety On May 25, 2022, President Biden signed Executive Order 14074, Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety. Section 13 of the Executive Order requires the heads of federal law enforcement agencies to issue policies with requirements that are equivalent to, or exceed, the requirements of the body-worn camera policy issued by the Department of Justice on June 7, 2021. The Executive Order also instructs federal law enforcement agencies to publicly post their body-worn camera policies. See the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) body-worn camera policy PDF for details. For media inquiries please contact newsroom@ci.irs.gov. Citizen Academy Citizen Academy allows students to become IRS Criminal Investigation special agents for a day Tax fraud alerts
