Tax Whistleblower Blog

Tax Court Amends Rules to Protect Confidentiality of Whistleblowers

A Whistleblower can challenge the nonpayment of a reward or the amount of a reward, under the Tax Whistleblower Reward Program, in the U.S. Tax Court.  In response to public comments, on October 3, 2008, Tax Court Rule 340 was issued to update the processes and procedures with the goal of enhancing confidentiality.  The new rule allow a Whistleblower to file a complaint using only his or her state of legal residence (or the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or U.S. possession) in order to establish venue, on a petition for additional disclosure, petition to restrain disclosure, or petition to disclose identity.  Although no complaints have, yet, been filed–challenging the IRS’s determination of a reward–it appears that the Tax Court is moving towards a proceeding where the Whistleblower may challenge the amount of a reward without his or her identity becoming public record.  This is extremely important to protect confidentiality, which is coveted by many Whistleblowers.