Treasury exempts fraud tip records from key Privacy Act provisions

The Department of the Treasury issued a final rule (FR Doc No: 2026-20469) exempting the system of records titled "Treasury .032--Federal Program Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Tip Intake and Referral Records" from certain provisions of the Privacy Act, effective November 5, 2026.

The exemption is limited to records, or portions of records, that constitute investigatory material compiled for law-enforcement purposes and otherwise qualify under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2). Records in the system that do not meet that statutory criteria remain subject to the applicable provisions of the Privacy Act.

Treasury exempts the system from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), and (f), as reflected in 31 CFR 1.36. The rule explains that disclosure of accounting, access, amendment, or procedural information could jeopardize investigations, enable evasion of detection, or compromise law-enforcement techniques.

The agency received two public comments on the proposed rule - one opposing the breadth of the exemptions and another supporting protection of investigatory material while urging a narrower scope. After consideration, Treasury adopted the proposed rule without change.

The final rule is not a "significant regulatory action" under Executive Order 12866, and Treasury certified under the Regulatory Flexibility Act that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.