IRS Shares Whistleblower Program Experience: Partnering With UK's HMRC Against Cross-Border Tax Evasion
The Internal Revenue Service highlighted its cooperation with the United Kingdom's HM Revenue and Customs in an October 7 news release on tax whistleblowing. HMRC launched its Strengthened Reward Scheme in November 2025 to encourage reports of serious tax avoidance and evasion aimed at the wealthiest individuals and the largest companies, a program modeled in part on the experience of the IRS Whistleblower Office.
According to the IRS, reportable conduct includes unreported offshore bank and financial accounts, assets hidden through offshore trusts and shell companies, money laundering, and transfer-pricing manipulation and cross-border profit shifting. Tips may be submitted by anyone, regardless of U.S. or UK citizenship or residency, and whistleblowers can receive a reward when a tip leads to collected tax.
IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano said the agency was proud to share its experience to help HMRC strengthen its program. HMRC Chief Executive JP Marks said the UK scheme opened a direct route for the public to report large-scale tax fraud and avoidance, drawing on results achieved by the IRS whistleblower program.
The two agencies said cross-border asset and profit arrangements often touch several countries' tax laws at once, and aligning their reporting channels makes undeclared income hidden behind offshore structures harder to conceal. Reporting channels are available on IRS.gov and on the UK government's GOV.UK website.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 位于伦敦 Parliament Street 100 号的英国税务海关总署 HMRC 总部大楼（局部裁切）。图：Arpingstone／Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Headquarters of HM Revenue and Customs at 100 Parliament Street, London (cropped). Photo: Arpingstone/Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
