Tax Policy:
Taxation of Single Premium Life Insurance
GGD-88-9BR: Published: Oct 16, 1987. Publicly Released: Oct 16, 1987.
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In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on single-premium life insurance, specifically: (1) its tax-favored investment status; (2) its increased sales relative to other life insurance; and (3) potential changes to its tax-favored status.
GAO found that: (1) single-premium life insurance as a tax-favored investment allows individuals to make investment gains without reporting them as taxable income; (2) the sales of single-premium life insurance increased from $1.0 billion to $4.3 billion, while ordinary premium sales increased from $8.3 billion to $9.4 billion; and (3) this growth in sales of single-premium life insurance was a result of congressional efforts to limit the tax-favored status of annuity contracts and individual retirement accounts. GAO believes that, if Congress should decide to change the tax status of single-premium life insurance, it should either: (1) treat loans from these policies in the same manner as distributions from annuity accounts; or (2) change the definition of life insurance so that single-premium contracts would not qualify for favorable tax treatment if the death benefit goes below a certain level.
Jan 14, 2021
Tax Administration:
Better Coordination Could Improve IRS's Use of Third-Party Information Reporting to Help Reduce the Tax GapGAO-21-102: Published: Dec 15, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2021.
Nov 18, 2020
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IRS Reorganization:
Planning Addressed Key Reform Practices, but Goals and Measures for the Plan Have Not Been FinalizedGAO-21-18: Published: Oct 19, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 18, 2020.
Nov 9, 2020
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Opportunity Zones:
Improved Oversight Needed to Evaluate Tax Expenditure PerformanceGAO-21-30: Published: Oct 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 9, 2020.
Oct 19, 2020
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Tax Administration:
Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight of Hospitals' Tax-Exempt StatusGAO-20-679: Published: Sep 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 19, 2020.
Sep 23, 2020
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Taxpayer Service:
IRS Could Improve the Taxpayer Experience by Using Better Service Performance MeasuresGAO-20-656: Published: Sep 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 23, 2020.
Aug 31, 2020
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Abusive Tax Schemes:
Offshore Insurance Products and Associated Compliance RisksGAO-20-589: Published: Jul 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 31, 2020.
Jun 29, 2020
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Taxpayer Compliance:
More Income Reporting Needed for Taxpayers Working through Online PlatformsGAO-20-366: Published: May 28, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 29, 2020.
Jun 16, 2020
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Tax Exempt Organizations:
IRS Increasingly Uses Data in Examination Selection, but Could Further Improve Selection ProcessesGAO-20-454: Published: Jun 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 16, 2020.
May 1, 2020
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Management Report:
Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal Control over Financial ReportingGAO-20-480R: Published: May 1, 2020. Publicly Released: May 1, 2020.
Apr 30, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
Internal Revenue ServiceGAO-20-548PR: Published: Apr 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2020.
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