How the IRS Finds People and Assets: The Locator Tools in IRM 5.1.18

People sometimes assume they can stay ahead of the IRS by not telling it things. Move without a forwarding address. Change banks. Keep the boat in a cousin's name.

Read IRM 5.1.18 (rev. 2025-05-28) and you will stop assuming that. It is a catalog of the tools Revenue Officers use to locate taxpayers and assets, with instructions on when and how to use each one. Here is what it covers, and where the limits are.

It starts before anyone calls you

Locator work is part of pre-contact analysis. IRM 5.1.10.2 (rev. 2025-04-24) tells Revenue Officers, before first contact, to review information return data for possible income sources and assets, and to consider researching Accurint or the internet for any information that may raise a safety concern.

ACS does locator work too. IRM 5.19.5.4.11.5 (rev. 2025-03-03) describes the I2 unit, which researches third party databases and directories and makes calls or sends letters to third parties to locate taxpayers or assets, and the I4 and I5 units for final locate attempts.

The national asset locator tool

IRM 5.1.18.2 lists the contracted locator services. At the time of publication the IRM names Accurint as the national asset locator tool, a credit bureau web browser, tax research portals, Department of Motor Vehicles databases, real property title reports, Uniform Commercial Code filings and Secretary of State corporate information.

IRM 5.1.18.2.2 says the asset locator tool can search public records including real property, real estate transactions, corporate officers, vehicles and aircraft, and information on people and businesses. Access requires an approved access request.

IRM 5.1.18.5 says information from 36 state motor vehicle departments was available through the national tool at publication, with some states unavailable because of contractual and regulatory restrictions.

Public and commercial records

IRM 5.1.18.6 says national UCC filing records can show assets used to secure business loans and financial relationships between businesses and individuals, including the debtor, filing date and state and secured parties. Secretary of State records show corporate and LLC information. Courthouse and real property records show ownership, and title reports show liens and transfers.

IRM 5.1.18.3 also covers internet research. It says the decision to use the internet must be based on the case, considering the size of the liability, complexity, compliance history and the taxpayer's cooperation. Where possible, employees are told to use the contracted subscription services.

Utility companies, the post office and passports

IRM 5.1.18.9 explains why utilities matter: taxpayers trying to avoid creditors may not tell the post office about a move, but they generally transfer utility service. A utility can confirm the name of the person billed at an address. The IRM notes that contact with a privately owned utility is treated as a third party contact, while a government-owned utility is not, and that a summons can be used if necessary.

Even old business registration records can matter. IRM 5.1.18.10 explains that the IRS no longer sends Forms SS-4, the application for an employer identification number, to the Social Security Administration, but officers may contact SSA for copies of Forms SS-4 for 1998 and prior years. For any Form SS-4 processed after 1998, the IRM tells officers not to contact SSA, because the IRS transmits that data electronically.

The Postal Service is a source too. IRM 5.1.18.11 says the IRS is a licensee of the National Change of Address product and receives change-of-address data regularly, and officers can use a postal tracer, Form 4759, to verify addresses. The IRM also has subsections on passport office checks and on the TECS lookout system used with the Department of Homeland Security.

Passports and border crossings

For taxpayers who travel, the IRM has two more tools. IRM 5.1.18.12 says the IRS may obtain information from the U.S. Passport Office in connection with an official investigation, called a passport check, which provides information from the most recent passport application, such as last known address, occupation, employer, phone number and emergency contact. A passport check requires managerial approval and does not provide travel history.

Travel history comes from TECS, a Department of Homeland Security database. IRM 5.1.18.13 says Revenue Officers can request that delinquent taxpayers be placed on a TECS lookout list so DHS will advise the IRS when they travel into the United States, and can request historical travel information.

The lookout has conditions. IRM 5.1.18.13.7.1 says a taxpayer is entered only if they live or are about to live outside the United States and its commonwealths and territories, or are believed to travel abroad frequently and cannot be contacted; have not voluntarily resolved the case; have a lien notice filed for all balance due modules; and owe at least $50,000 in an international case or $100,000 in a domestic case, unless a group manager approves a lesser amount for significant compliance issues.

The systemic levy source file

Some asset discovery happens automatically. IRM 5.1.18.18 describes the Centralized Asset Research System, which gathers levy source information from internal and external sources, prioritizes it and uploads it to IDRS, where employees see it through a command code and on the ACS and ICS levy source screens.

The internal sources listed in IRM 5.1.18.18.1 include the Information Returns Master File for W-2 and 1099 information, federal tax deposit information, the Remittance Processing System for payments made through service centers, the Federal Contractor File and electronic filing data.

Think about that last group. If you paid the IRS from a bank account, that account may already be in the levy source file.

Credit reports, with limits

IRM 5.1.18.19 says consumer credit reports, properly analyzed, can be a useful source of locator and asset information, including loans, employment, payment history and the identity of other creditors who have made inquiries. The IRM quotes 31 U.S.C. 3711(h) as the authority for obtaining credit reports to collect a claim.

There are limits. IRM 5.1.18.19.2 says an officer may order a credit report on a taxpayer only to collect a balance due assessment, may not access credit reports on anyone without an open balance due, may not pull reports on delinquent return or other investigation cases without a balance due unless a summons is served, and may not pull a report on a non-liable spouse except in community property states.

Requests go through an ICS application that routes them to the employee's manager for review and approval, according to IRM 5.1.18.19.2.6.

Bank Secrecy Act data

The most powerful tool on the list is FinCEN data. IRM 5.1.18.14 describes the FinCEN Query system, which stores Bank Secrecy Act information reported by financial institutions, including Currency Transaction Reports for cash transactions over $10,000 and Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts for foreign accounts over $10,000.

Access is restricted. The IRM says access must be in connection with active, assigned cases, and that current authorized users include general program revenue officers at grade 13, ATAT and International revenue officers of all grades and managers of authorized users. Other officers can request the information through set procedures.

What this means for you

The IRS can find most people and most assets. Hiding is usually a losing strategy, and it can turn a civil collection case into something more serious.

Third party contacts that are part of this research are subject to the advance notice rules I describe in Third Party Contact Rules. But database searches with no person on the other end are not third party contacts at all.

The better path is to give the Revenue Officer an accurate financial picture first. When your statement matches what the locator tools show, your credibility goes up. When it does not, the conversation changes.