On November 3, 2020 we posted The IRS Wealth Squad - The Super-Richest's Worst Nightmare, where we discussed that high-net-worth individuals may find themselves the focus of unwanted attention from the Internal Revenue Service.
Now TIGTA reveals the results of these Internal Revenue Service targeted sweeps of so-called high-income non-filers, which have largely been successful in closing cases and collecting revenue, but the agency could do more to target certain areas and collect tracking data better, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said.
The Sweeps From 2021 And 2022 Resulted In More Case Closures And Dollars Collected Than High-Income Nonfiler Cases Not Handled Through Sweeps, TIGTA Said In A Report.
HINF sweeps cases worked by revenue officers from Fiscal Years 2021 through 2022 were more impactful in terms of case closures and dollars collected than non-sweeps HINF cases. As a percentage of cases worked, revenue officers secured more returns under sweeps than non-sweeps and referred significantly more returns to Examination. For Tax Years 2014 through 2020, revenue officers consistently collected more per sweep case than non-sweep case.
Sweeps were conducted throughout the United States and internationally. However, there are several geographic areas in the continental United States that have a high number of HINFs where limited or no sweeps were conducted. There are opportunities for more sweeps in places like eastern New Mexico, western Texas, northwestern Nevada, and Wyoming.
TIGTA'S review also found that the sweeps tracking data could be improved. Missing, incomplete, and/or inaccurate data were found in data fields such as the taxpayer’s name, address, revenue officer identifier, and case assignment date. These errors were not identified and corrected before this review. We worked with the IRS to make corrections so that the data reviewed for this audit were accurate and complete. However, the IRS would benefit from complete and accurate data to track the results of sweeps.
Finally, Field Collection is not always using sweeps to help train and develop employee skills. While the sweeps desk guide provides the IRS with many opportunities to develop employee skills, Collection management is not always taking advantage of them. These activities have the potential to make sweeps an even more effective tool.
Are You Being Audited by the IRS Wealth Squad?
Read more at: Tax Times blog
