As virtual currencies like bitcoin grow in popularity, how can IRS be sure that people are paying relevant taxes? IRS addressed some taxpayer questions in its 2014 and 2019 virtual currency guidance. For example, the guidance says that using virtual currency can produce taxable capital gains. But IRS could do more to help taxpayers comply. Financial institutions already report information about...

How does the government prevent tax dodgers from hiding income in offshore accounts? A 2010 law requires Americans and foreign banks to report more information to IRS about Americans' foreign assets. Implementing the law, however, has raised some concerns. For example, close to 75% of taxpayers reporting foreign assets to IRS also reported them separately to Treasury—indicating potential unnec...

In GAO's opinion, the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) fiscal years 2017 and 2016 financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects. However, in GAO's opinion, IRS did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2017, because of a continuing material weakness in internal control over unpaid assessments. GAO's tests of IRS's compliance with...

People who invest their retirement accounts in unconventional assets—such as real estate or virtual currency—may be placing their savings at risk. Retirement accounts allowing such unconventional investments increase owners' responsibilities in ways they may not understand—and mistakes can trigger taxes and penalties. Moreover, account custodians may prematurely close an account or let valu...

Allocating agencies that administer the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program have certain flexibilities for implementing program requirements and the agencies have done so in various ways. Although GAO found that allocating agencies generally have processes to meet requirements for allocating credits, reviewing costs, and monitoring projects, some of these practices raised concerns:More t...

A number of strategies, including implementing preventive controls and addressing GAO's prior recommendations, can help agencies reduce improper payments, which have been a persistent, government-wide issue. The improper payment estimate, attributable to 124 programs across 22 agencies in fiscal year 2014, was $124.7 billion, up from $105.8 billion in fiscal year 2013. The almost $19 billion incre...

Identity Theft (IDT) Refund Fraud Cost Estimates. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) fraud estimates met several GAO Cost Guide best practices, such as documenting data sources and detailing calculations. However, the estimates do not reflect the uncertainty inherent in measuring IDT refund fraud because they are presented as point estimates. Best practices suggest that agencies assess the effec...

Since fiscal year 2010, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) budget has declined by about $900 million. As a result, funding is below fiscal year 2009 levels.IRS Appropriations Fiscal Years 2009 through 2014 and Fiscal Year 2015 Requested AppropriationStaffing has also declined by about 10,000 full-time equivalents since fiscal year 2010, and performance has been uneven. For example, between fiscal...

The executive branch has taken a number of steps to implement key provisions of the GPRA Modernization Act (the act). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) developed interim cross-agency priority (CAP) goals, and agencies developed agency priority goals (APG). Agency officials reported that their agencies have assigned performance management leadership roles and responsibilities to officials w...

Understanding the extent and nature of identity theft-related refund fraud is important to crafting a response to it, but Internal Revenue Service (IRS) managers recognize that they do not have a complete picture. Program officials said that one of the challenges they face in combating this type of fraud is its changing nature and how it is concealed. While perfect knowledge about cases and who is...