Confidentiality of Whistleblower
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The Service will protect the identity of the whistleblower to the fullest extent permitted by the law.
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Under some circumstance, such as when the whistleblower is an essential witness in a judicial proceeding, it may not be possible to pursue the investigation or examination without revealing the whistleblower’s identify.
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The Service will inform the whistleblower before deciding whether to proceed in such cases.
Disclosure of taxpayer information
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Once a claim is submitted, the informant may be told only the status and disposition of the claim – not the action taken in the taxpayer case.
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We can say whether the claim is still open or has been closed.
If closed we can say that a claim is payable (and the amount) or that the claim is denied. -
A claim can be denied if:
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the IRS already had the information from another source,
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an audit or investigation is conducted but leads to no finding of taxpayer liability,
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A finding or liability is made but the taxpayer is successful in an administrative or judicial appeal,
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Or a finding of liability is made and sustained but there is no collection because the taxpayer has no known assets that we can collect against.
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All of that information about the taxpayer is covered by privacy laws which impose strict limits on what we can disclose.