Q What is a whistle-blower fee?

A In February 2007, the Internal Revenue Service established a Whistleblower Office, responsible for administering the program designed to receive information to help uncover tax cheating and give out rewards to whistleblowers, said Al Giovetti, a certified public accountant and member of the Maryland Society of Accountants.

The office, established by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, “will process tips received from individuals who spot tax problems in their workplace, while conducting day-to-day personal business or anywhere else they may be encountered,” Giovetti said.

A reward could be worth between 15 percent and 30 percent of the total proceeds that the IRS collects, if the information leads to an IRS investigation, he said.

But beware: A false or fraudulent report made to the IRS could result in criminal or civil prosecution of the whistle-blower, if the government determined that the report was made with “caprice or malice,” he said.