What Is Form 211: Application for Award for Original Information?

Form 211 is a type of form that is required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Form 211 is a form that must be submitted to the IRS by a “whistleblower” who seeks to claim a reward for providing information about tax evasion to the U.S. government. If the IRS can recover funds based on a whistleblower or informant claim, the whistleblower or informant will receive a reward equal to a percentage of said funds.

Who Can File Form 211: Application for Award for Original Information?

A whistleblower can submit IRS Form 211 to claim a reward unless the U.S. Department of the Treasury employed them at the time of receiving or providing the information on the tax evasion or is a present or former federal government employee who received the information in the course of official duties. Form 211 rewards can be substantial, up to 30% of the additional tax, penalty and other amounts the IRS Whistleblower Office collects.

The IRS runs two whistleblower reward programs. Under the first program, if the IRS collects taxes, interest, and penalties in an amount exceeding $2 million, the whistleblower may be rewarded 15 to 30 percent of the amount the IRS collects. If the whistleblower is reporting an individual taxpayer, that person must have an annual income in an amount greater than $200,000 in order for the whistleblower to be eligible to collect up to 30% of the funds recovered. Under the first program, if the whistleblower isn’t happy with the outcome of the investigation, he or she can bring it before the Tax Court in an appeal. Rules for this program are available in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 7623(b).

Under the second whistleblower reward program, whistleblowers can file Form 211 to inform the IRS of tax evasion in amounts less than $2 million, or by individuals earning less than $200,000. Whistleblowers using this second program may collect a maximum of 15% of the total funds recovered, up to $10 million. They may not appeal the case to the Tax Court. The rules for informant claims under this program can be found at IRC 7623(a).

This is not the same form as the Form 211 submitted with the FINRA OTC Compliance Unit.

Key Takeaways

  • This form is submitted to the IRS by a “whistleblower” who seeks to claim a reward for providing information about tax evasion to the U.S. government.
  • Form 211 rewards can be substantial, up to 30% of the additional tax, penalty and other amounts the IRS Whistleblower Office collects.
  • Federal government employees do not qualify for an award.


How to File Form 211: Application for Award for Original Information

The whistleblower submits Form 211 under penalty of perjury with the IRS at the following address:

Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Office - ICE

1973 N. Rulon White Blvd.

M/S 4110

Ogden, UT 84404

Download Application for Award for Original Information Here