Most tax investigations unfold on paper: summonses, bank records, grand jury subpoenas, interviews. A search warrant is different. Agents arrive at a home or business, secure the premises, and leave with boxes of records and copies of computers.
The IRS's own manual says search warrants in tax cases should be rare. When one is executed, the government has already persuaded several layers of reviewers, and a federal magistrate judge, that it was justified. This guide explains how that process works under the Internal Revenue Manual and the Justice Manual, and what people at the scene should understand. It is general information, not advice about any particular search.
Restraint is the IRS policy
IRM 9.4.9.2 sets the tone: "Search warrants for tax and tax-related offenses will be utilized with restraint and only in significant tax investigations." Agents are told that "all other investigative tools (i.e., mail covers, surveillance, informants, trash pulls) should be considered before deciding that a search warrant is the least intrusive means to acquire the evidence."
The manual lists the factors for judging significance:
- amount of tax due,
- nature of the fraud,
- need for evidence to be seized, and
- impact of the potential criminal tax investigation on voluntary compliance.
A CI-affiant search warrant requires a numbered subject criminal investigation, the formal case stage described in IRS Criminal Investigation, explained.
Layers of approval
Before agents go to a magistrate judge, the request goes through review.
IRS Criminal Tax Counsel. IRM 9.4.9.2 says all requests for tax and tax-related search warrants require a written evaluation by Criminal Tax Counsel of the intrusiveness issue. The special agent must explain on Form 13739, IRS-CI Operation Authorization, why other methods cannot produce the evidence. Factors include the type of records sought, objective evidence that the subject may destroy evidence, objective evidence of attempts to obstruct, and facts showing other attempts to get the records were ineffective or would compromise the investigation.
The Justice Department. JM 6-4.130 says the Department has delegated to United States Attorneys the authority to approve many tax search warrants, including warrants for the premises of a target or subject. But the United States Attorney's Office must get the Justice Department's tax prosecutors to approve in writing any warrant where the target or subject is reasonably believed to be an accountant, a lawyer, a physician, a public official or political candidate, a member of the clergy, a news media representative, a labor union official, or an official of a 501(c)(3) organization, as well as warrants for the premises of a third party who is not a target or subject.
A judge. As with any federal search warrant, a judge must issue it.
Why tax warrants are harder to write
The Justice Manual acknowledges a problem unique to tax cases. JM 6-4.130 explains that seizing business and personal records "is not as direct or simple as the seizure of a contraband," because the documents "contain much personal and confidential information" and are not unusual, illegal, or dangerous in themselves. The requirement to name items with specificity is harder to meet, and the warrant must specify the items, the place, and a time frame.
The scope of the warrant matters. The CI manual, IRM 9.4.9.3.5.3, says evidence not covered by the warrant can only be seized with a new warrant or the owner's consent, and that agents carry Form 6884, Voluntary Consent to Search, for those situations.
What happens during execution
The CI manual describes the procedure in IRM 9.4.9.3.5:
- On entry, the premises are secured and "the search warrant will be read to whoever is in control of the premises."
- Agents photograph or video each location, sketch the premises, and label rooms.
- Seized items are tagged and inventoried. The manual notes the volume of records in a financial search usually requires a detailed computer inventory.
- Computers get special handling to preserve evidence integrity, and the manual tells agents to follow any segregation plan set by the magistrate.
- At the end, "a copy of the search warrant and inventory (not the affidavit) will be left at the premises or with a person in control of the premises."
Afterward, under IRM 9.4.9.3.6, the warrant is returned to the magistrate judge with an inventory of the items seized, and Criminal Tax Counsel conducts a post-search inventory review in tax cases.
Agents may try to interview people at the scene
Searches are also opportunities for interviews. The CI manual notes in IRM 9.4.9.3.4 that special agents assisting other agencies can interview subjects and related individuals during the execution of a search warrant. Employees, family members, and the subject may all be approached.
Nothing about a search warrant requires anyone to answer questions. The Fifth Amendment protections described in your rights in an IRS criminal interview still apply. A search is a stressful, chaotic event, and it is the worst possible setting for an unplanned statement.
Computers, email, and storage units
Modern tax evidence is mostly digital, and the rules reflect that. JM 6-4.130 lists, among the warrants United States Attorneys may approve, warrants "directed to a provider of electronic communication services or remote computing services" relating to a subject or target, and warrants directed to a disinterested third party that owns a storage space business. The CI manual devotes IRM 9.4.9.5 to search warrants and less intrusive methods for obtaining stored wire and electronic communications, including subpoenas and court process.
At the scene, the CI manual tells agents to preserve the integrity of computer evidence, to determine whether data sits on a local computer, a network, or a computer outside the United States, and that agents should "generally, do not seize electronic evidence located outside the United States." It also says agents should obtain express authority to remove a computer from the site to search it, if that authority was not previously granted.
In other words, the search may not end when the agents leave. Imaged devices and records from service providers can be reviewed for months afterward.
Lawyers' offices and privilege teams
When the premises belong to a lawyer, there are added procedures. IRM 9.4.9.3.2.4.1 describes Justice Department policy requiring extensive coordination and the use of a "privilege team" of special agents and attorneys not involved in the underlying investigation. The team reviews potentially privileged material and decides what can go to the investigators and prosecutors, so the case team is not exposed to privileged communications.
What people at the scene should understand
This is general information, not instructions for any situation:
- Do not physically interfere with agents executing a warrant.
- Ask to see the warrant, and read what it authorizes and where.
- You are not required to answer questions. Say you want a lawyer.
- Do not consent to searches beyond the warrant's scope unless your lawyer advises it. Agents need a new warrant or consent for items outside it.
- Do not destroy, hide, or move anything. After a search, a proceeding is unmistakably pending, and obstruction risk is real. See obstruction under section 7212(a).
- Keep the copy of the warrant and the inventory the agents leave.
- Call a lawyer immediately, and tell employees they may speak with counsel before speaking with agents.
What a search warrant tells you
A search warrant in a tax case usually means the investigation has been running for some time, internal approvals have been obtained, and a judge has found probable cause. It also means a voluntary disclosure is generally no longer timely, because IRM 9.5.11.9 lists information obtained through an enforcement action such as a search warrant among the events that close that door. From here, the case is in the hands of counsel and prosecutors.
The CI manual also limits seizures to the warrant. IRM 9.4.9.3.5.3 says evidence outside the warrant's scope can be seized only with a new warrant or the owner's consent, which is why agents may ask for consent on the spot.
Frequently asked questions
How often does the IRS use search warrants in tax cases?
The IRS manual says tax search warrants will be used with restraint and only in significant tax investigations, after considering less intrusive tools. It does not publish a rate in the provisions cited here.
Who has to approve an IRS search warrant?
Under IRM 9.4.9.2, Criminal Tax Counsel must evaluate intrusiveness in writing. Under JM 6-4.130, the United States Attorney can approve many warrants, but the Justice Department's tax prosecutors must approve warrants targeting accountants, lawyers, physicians, and other listed groups, and warrants for third-party premises. A judge issues the warrant.
Will I get a copy of the warrant?
The CI manual says a copy of the search warrant and the inventory, but not the affidavit, will be left at the premises or with a person in control of the premises.
Do I have to answer questions during a search?
No. The warrant authorizes a search, not an interview. You can decline to answer and ask for a lawyer.
General information only, not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and IRS procedures change; the sources cited were reviewed on the date shown above.