Participating in an illegal scheme to avoid paying taxes can result in imprisonment and fines, as well as the repayment of taxes owed with penalties and interest. If you become aware of any abusive tax scams, please report them to the appropriate contact below.

Reporting Tax Scams

Phishing Scams

Phishing is a scam typically carried out through unsolicited email and/or websites that pose as legitimate sites and lure unsuspecting victims to provide personal and financial information.

Report all unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS or an IRS-related function to phishing@irs.gov . If you’ve experienced any monetary losses due to an IRS-related incident, please report it to the Treasury Inspector General Administration (TIGTA) and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through their Complaint Assistant to make the information available to investigators.

Promoters of Abusive Tax Schemes or Preparers of Fraudulent Returns

Common abusive tax scams include anti-tax law, home-based business, trust, and off-shore schemes.

To report promoters of these scheme types or any other types you are aware of that are not listed here, please complete an online referral using the Form 14242, Document Upload Tool, or send a completed referral formPDF, along with any promotional materials to the Lead Development Center:

Mail: Internal Revenue Service Lead Development Center Stop MS5040 24000 Avila Road Laguna Niguel, California 92677-3405

Fax: 877-477-9135

Abusive Transaction Involving a Retirement Plan

The Abusive Transaction Hotline provides people a way to share information (anonymously, if preferred) about abusive tax shelters and emerging issues that may be abusive in retirement plans.

Find out which listed transactions have been determined by the IRS to be tax avoidance transactions and how to report them.

Abusive Transaction Involving an Exempt Organization

Exempt organizations are, at times, used by for-profit entities as accommodation parties in abusive tax avoidance transactions.

Visit the Exempt Organization Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions page for information on how to report these schemes using Form 13909, Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral) Form.

Abusive Tax Shelters and Transactions

The IRS maintains an abusive tax shelter hotline that people can use to provide information (anonymously, if preferred) about abusive tax shelters. Office of Tax Shelter Analysis is primarily interested in potentially abusive transactions that may be employed by many taxpayers and could pose a significant compliance risk to the IRS.

How Do You Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity?

• Quick reference chart outlines how to report suspected tax fraud activity in different situations.
• State ID Theft Resources – State information on what to do if you or your employees are victims of identity theft.
• Employers and tax professionals should notify states of any disclosures of W-2s or other identity information by emailing StateAlert@taxadmin.org.

Information for Tax Professionals on the Common Types of Schemes

• Anti-Tax Law Schemes
• Employee Plans Abusive Tax Transactions
• Exempt Organization Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions
• Dirty Dozen Tax Scams