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Report: IRS Contract Workers Owe $5.4M in Back Taxes

Author: Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC

Date: November 8, 2013

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Close to 700 contract workers of the Internal Revenue Service owe the agency $5.4 million in back taxes, according to a report released on Oct. 23 by a Treasury Department inspector general.

“The IRS takes tax compliance for taxpayers and those who work for the IRS very seriously,” the IRS said in a statement. “For an IRS employee, failure to timely pay one’s full federal tax liability is considered misconduct, which may result in discipline or removal.”

According to The Associated Press, more than half of the contractors should be ineligible to work for the IRS because they are currently not enrolled in installment plans to cover the taxes owed.

The IRS is unique among federal agencies because it requires all of its 90,000 employees specializing in tax law – as well as those working on agency contracts – to be compliant with federal tax laws. As a result, staff and contractors alike are responsible for filing returns on time, the news source noted.

Those who do owe taxes are required to pay the total amount owed, or enroll in payment plans. The agency attests that it vigorously monitors the tax compliance of employees, as well as contractors.

An earlier report released on Oct. 22 found that the IRS issues between $11.6 billion to $13.6 billion in improper earned-income tax credits in 2012, The Washington Post reported.

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