Confidentiality of Whistleblower The Service will protect the identity of the whistleblower to the fullest extent permitted by the law. 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. The Service will inform the whistleblower before deciding whether to proceed in such cases. Disclosure of taxpayer information 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. 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: the IRS already had the information from another source, an audit or investigation is conducted but leads to no finding of taxpayer liability, A finding or liability is made but the taxpayer is successful in an administrative or judicial appeal, 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. All of that information about the taxpayer is covered by privacy laws which impose strict limits on what we can disclose. Whistleblower Office Home
