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Improvements Have Been Made, but Controls Need to Be Strengthened to Detect Improper Self-Employed Retirement Deductions

Report Information

Date Issued
Report Number
2021-10-007
Report Type
Audit
Joint Report
Yes
Participating OIG
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
Agency Wide
Yes (agency-wide)
Questioned Costs
$0
Funds for Better Use
$0
View Report

Recommendations

The Commissioner, Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) Division, should consider updating programming to use existing third-party data to detect potentially overstated deductions. For example, if the instructions for Form 5498 are revised pursuant to Recommendation 5, the IRS could better compare the deduction amounts reported on the tax returns with the amounts reported on Forms 5498.
Recommendation rejected by IRS