Reporting tax evasion (shadow economy activity)

Reporting tax evasion (shadow economy activity)

How can a report of tax evasion or shadow economy activity be made to Revenue?

You can make a report to Revenue by completing and submitting the online Tax Evasion Report Form.

The information you provide will be treated as strictly confidential.

If you are a worker who wishes to report information about potential wrongdoing in your workplace, you can make your report to Revenue under the framework of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (as amended). By doing so you will be afforded a range of important legal protections. You can find out more information on Protected Disclosures.

What sort of information about shadow economy activity is useful to Revenue?

Any sort of information may be useful, but the more specific it is the better we will be able to act on it. The following details are particularly useful:

• a description of the activity (for example, the type of business, trade or other activity being carried on, where it is happening and when it started)
• address of the business or the name and address (home, business or web address) of the suspected evader
• telephone contact numbers (land line or mobile numbers)
• approximate age of the suspected evader
• the make, model, colour and registration number of any car, van or other vehicle, owned or used by the business or person
• information about how the business or other activity is advertised (details or samples of 'flyers' or other advertisements)
• evidence that the business or person is involved in tax evasion, including details of any others involved in the evasion
• a Value-Added Tax (VAT) number (if displayed on invoices, vehicles and so on). 

What happens to the information you provide us with? 

Where the information is sufficiently detailed or specific, we will use it to investigate the business or person suspected of tax evasion. If the information may be useful to another State agency, we will pass it on to them. For example, information about an individual who is 'working and signing' is useful to both Revenue and to the Department Social Protection (DSP). 

For reasons of taxpayer confidentiality, we do not report back to you on the outcome of an investigation into tax evasion.

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