Twitter has field day over IRS call to report income from crimes

No kidding.

As harried Americans rush to file their taxes before the April 18 deadline, one of the IRS’s most puzzling rules — to self-report income from crimes — has turned into comedy gold.

Outlined in the IRS Publication 525, the agency tells sticky-fingered taxpayers: “If you steal property, you must report its FMV (Fair Market Value) in your income in the year you steal it, unless in the same year you return it to its rightful owner.”

As for illegal drug sales or bribery, Uncle Same needs you to include those profits in your 1040 form as well.

The reminder has triggered massive mocking on social media, with one Twitter user cheekily asking: ‘So my black ski mask and duffle bag is used as a deductible from robbing the local liquor store?’

An IRS spokesman said he wasn’t aware of any instance where the agency publicly published how many taxpayers reported income from crimes.

The agency reminds taxpayers it doesn’t turn over information to police unless law enforcement has a case and gets a court order to access the records.

Right.

“The IRS be like I don’t care what law you break as long as I get my fair share,” one poster tweeted.

Another echoed what many were snidely asking on social media: “Does anyone know if you can deduct costs for the getaway car, masks, etc?”

“In what section do you disclose that you are cheating on your tax return? Asking for a friend,” still another poster asked.

The more sobering social media advice noted that no matter what the case may be, not reporting the stolen income still results in possible charges that could be added if the criminals are ever caught.

“Not doing so is called tax evasion. On a different topic, does anyone know what Scarface went to jail for?” a Twitter poster wrote, referencing notorious gangster Al Capone famously boasting before his 1931 conviction for tax evasion: “They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money.”

The IRS reported 370 tax fraud offenders for the 2021 fiscal year, up more than 12%from the previous year.