Income Tax 567 Complaints: Fraud, Preparers, and IRS Employees

To file a complaint with the IRS, you have to match your problem to the right form and the right office, because the agency runs separate channels for each type of complaint and sending the wrong paperwork to the wrong place is the quickest way to get a form letter instead of an answer. Reporting someone else’s tax cheating uses one form; claiming a whistleblower award uses another; reporting a dishonest tax preparer, disputing your own tax bill, asking for help when IRS action is hurting you, and reporting an IRS employee each have their own path. Pick the channel first, then fill out the form that goes with it.

Which Complaint Belongs Where

Before you start writing, figure out which of these describes your situation:

Someone else is cheating on their taxes and you want to report it: Form 3949-A.
You have detailed information about large-scale tax underpayment and want a reward: Form 211 (Whistleblower Program).
A paid tax preparer did something wrong: Form 14157, plus Form 14157-A if your own account needs to be corrected.
You disagree with an IRS assessment of your own taxes: Form 12203 or a written protest, and later a Tax Court petition.
IRS action is causing you financial harm and normal channels aren’t working: Form 911 to the Taxpayer Advocate Service.
An IRS employee committed serious misconduct: the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
An IRS employee was rude, slow, or unhelpful: ask for a supervisor at the office that handled you.

Reporting Someone for Tax Fraud

Form 3949-A (Information Referral) is the standard way to tell the IRS about an individual or business you believe is violating tax law. It covers unreported income, false deductions, failure to file, failure to withhold, altered documents, and similar conduct.¹ You can submit it online or print and mail it to the IRS in Ogden, Utah.²

The form asks for the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the person or business you’re reporting, a description of the alleged violation, and the approximate dollar amounts involved. You don’t have to identify yourself. The IRS accepts anonymous referrals, though giving your contact information helps if agents need to follow up.

Form 3949-A is a tip and nothing more. You hand information to the IRS and walk away. The IRS won’t tell you whether it investigated or what came of it, and the form itself produces no award.

The Whistleblower Program for Large Cases

If you have detailed, credible information about significant tax underpayment and you want to be paid for it, the IRS Whistleblower Program is the right channel. The submission is Form 211 (Application for Award for Original Information), which you can file online or by mail.³

Unlike Form 3949-A, Form 211 is not anonymous. You sign under penalty of perjury, and the IRS needs your identity to pay you. The form asks for detailed facts about the alleged violator and the basis for your belief that taxes were underpaid.

Thresholds and Award Amounts

The mandatory award program applies only when the tax, penalties, and interest in dispute exceed $2 million and, for an individual taxpayer, gross income exceeds $200,000 in at least one relevant year. If both thresholds are met and the IRS collects on your information, the award is 15 to 30 percent of the collected proceeds.⁴

If your information was already partly available from public sources like court records, government reports, or news coverage, the maximum drops to 10 percent. If you helped plan the scheme, the award can be reduced or denied; a criminal conviction tied to that involvement means no award at all.⁴

Submissions are handled inside the IRS rather than in open court, and the IRS will neither confirm nor deny to the investigated taxpayer that a whistleblower was involved. Federal law also bars employers from retaliating against employees who report tax violations. An employee who is fired, demoted, suspended, or harassed for reporting can sue for reinstatement, double back pay, lost benefits, and attorney fees.⁴

Complaints About a Tax Return Preparer

Form 14157 (Return Preparer Complaint) is used to report a paid preparer for misconduct such as inflating deductions, fabricating income, charging excessive fees, or failing to sign a return they prepared.⁵ The form asks for the preparer’s name, business address, and Preparer Tax Identification Number if you have it.

If the preparer filed a return without your knowledge or altered one without your consent, add Form 14157-A (Tax Return Preparer Fraud or Misconduct Affidavit). That affidavit is specifically for cases where you need the IRS to change your tax account because of what the preparer did. Submit both forms together with your supporting documents.

Form 14157 goes to the IRS Return Preparer Office in Atlanta, Georgia, by mail or fax.⁶ If you’ve already received an IRS notice or letter about the return in question, send the forms to the address on that notice instead.⁵

Disputing What the IRS Says You Owe

Challenging the IRS’s determination of your own taxes is a different track from reporting someone else, and it runs in two stages with different deadlines. Confusing them is where people lose their rights.

The 30-Day Letter

After an audit, the IRS typically sends a 30-day letter (such as Letter 525 or Letter 950) with a report of proposed adjustments. The letter explains your right to appeal to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, and you have 30 days from the date of the letter to file.⁷

If the total amount in dispute (tax and penalties combined) is $25,000 or less for the tax year, you can use the small case process. File Form 12203 (Request for Appeals Review), list each item you disagree with, and briefly explain why.⁸

When the disputed amount exceeds $25,000, the IRS requires a formal written protest that includes:

Your name, address, and phone number
A clear statement that you want to appeal the IRS findings
The specific tax periods at issue
A breakdown of each adjustment you dispute, with the facts and any legal authority supporting your position
A penalties-of-perjury statement confirming the information is true and correct

Send the protest to the IRS office identified in your letter within the 30-day window.⁸ An Appeals Officer will then schedule a conference. These officers can settle based on the realistic likelihood of the IRS winning in court, so genuine negotiation is possible at this stage.

The 90-Day Letter

If you don’t respond to the 30-day letter, or if Appeals can’t resolve the dispute, the IRS sends a statutory Notice of Deficiency, known as the 90-day letter. This is the IRS’s final determination of additional tax owed.⁷

You have 90 days from the mailing date (150 days if you’re outside the United States) to file a petition with the United States Tax Court. If the last day falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline rolls to the next business day.⁹ Miss that deadline and the assessment becomes final; the IRS can start collection without further discussion. Tax Court lets you challenge the amount before paying it, which matters when the bill is substantial.¹⁰ The filing fee is $60.¹¹

Getting Help When the IRS Is the Problem

When you’ve tried normal IRS channels and gotten nowhere, or when IRS action is causing real financial harm, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) can intervene. TAS is an independent organization within the IRS. You request help using Form 911.¹²

TAS accepts cases that fall into defined hardship categories:

Economic harm, such as eviction, inability to pay for necessities, or a frozen bank account from a levy
Immediate threat of adverse action like property seizure or wage garnishment
Substantial professional fees if the issue isn’t resolved
Systemic delay of more than 30 days past normal processing time, or a missed IRS response date
Application of the tax law that is fundamentally unfair given your circumstances

TAS will not take cases involving frivolous tax arguments or constitutional challenges to the tax system.¹³ It exists to fix administrative failures, not to relitigate whether you owe the tax.

Reporting an IRS Employee

Complaints about an IRS employee split into two paths depending on how serious the conduct was.

Criminal Conduct, Fraud, or Abuse

Serious misconduct (theft, bribery, unauthorized access to taxpayer records, fraud) goes to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, not to the IRS itself. TIGTA is an independent oversight body that investigates IRS employees. Call the Office of Investigations hotline at 1-800-366-4484 or file through the TIGTA website.¹⁴

Poor Service

For rude behavior, delays, lost paperwork, or unhelpful responses, there is no single universal complaint form. Start by contacting the IRS office that handled your interaction and asking for a supervisor. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights guarantees your right to quality service, including the right to speak with a supervisor about inadequate service.¹⁵

If the problem involves discrimination based on race, sex, disability, or other protected characteristics, the IRS Civil Rights Division accepts written complaints. These must generally be filed within 180 days of the incident and mailed to the Operations Director of the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C.

When poor service has crossed into actual financial harm, such as a refund delayed for months, a lien that wasn’t released, or an employee error that cascaded through your account, TAS and Form 911 become the right path rather than a general service complaint.

1
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 3949-A, Information Referral
2
Internal Revenue Service. Report Tax Fraud, a Scam or Law Violation
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Internal Revenue Service. Submit a Whistleblower Claim for Award
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 7623 – Expenses of Detection of Underpayments and Fraud
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Internal Revenue Service. Make a Complaint About a Tax Return Preparer
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 14157 – Return Preparer Complaint
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Internal Revenue Service. Letters and Notices Offering an Appeal Opportunity
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Internal Revenue Service. Preparing a Request for Appeals
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6213 – Restrictions Applicable to Deficiencies; Petition to Tax Court
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Taxpayer Advocate Service. Filing a Petition with the United States Tax Court
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United States Tax Court. Court Fees
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Taxpayer Advocate Service. Submit a Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance
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Internal Revenue Service. 13.1.7 Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) Case Criteria
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U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration OIG. Submit a Complaint
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Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayer Bill of Rights