I have seen multiple times on Lemmy that the IRS wants people to report income from illegal means and that they don’t care to bust someone for it. For example, an illicit drug dealer is expected by the IRS to report their drug sale revenue without having to worry about being caught for drug dealing.

Will the IRS seriously not report illegal activities or individuals that report they earned income through vague illegal means?

If they don’t, do law enforcement agencies skim IRS tax reports to find people that report illegal income to further investigate?

Can IRS tax forms that report illegal income be used against someone in court?

It just seems ridiculous that reporting illegal activity, however undefined, to the federal government would be a safe option.