GAO: fraud costs the IRS an estimated $116 billion to $304 billion a year, and the agency has no antifraud strategy or fraud coordinator.

Friends, Proverbs says the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance. The Government Accountability Office just found the IRS has no plan at all for one of its biggest leaks. The Washington Times reports that a GAO analysis released Friday estimates the IRS loses between 2% and 6% a year to fraud, or between $116 billion and $304 billion. The fraudsters include people and firms who intentionally underpay, and criminals, some operating internationally, who steal identities and file completely fabricated returns. The watchdog found the IRS lacks both a fraud coordinator and an antifraud strategy. GAO's Rebecca Shea and Jared B. Smith wrote that a strategy "would help IRS coordinate and communicate its overall approach to tax fraud risk management to ultimately mitigate such risks and reduce revenue lost to fraud." IRS CEO Frank Bisignano responded that the agency spots "billions of dollars in tax discrepancies" every year, and that spreading fraud work across offices is by design because "tax fraud risks vary by tax administration function and evolve over time." In 2024 the IRS opened 2,600 criminal fraud investigations and assessed 1,400 civil fraud penalties totaling $115 million. The GAO's estimate draws on modeling from 2018 to 2024, including the shadow economy and methods used in Britain and Australia, and it is separate from the broader tax gap, which also counts honest mistakes. The Times notes that the administration's new push against fraud has mostly targeted benefit fraud, while tax fraud is massive and appears to be growing. Every honest filer carries what the dishonest skip, and the years studied span administrations of both parties, so nobody gets to point across the aisle. Friends, a strategy costs little to write. Ask your members of Congress to require one, with a named coordinator, before the next filing season.