The Internal Revenue Service has a message for companies thatowe taxes on overseas profits: Auditors are closely watching.

The IRS included repatriation tax payments—the levies companiesowe on their accumulated offshore earnings, according to the 2017tax law—as an area of focus for the agency's auditors, according toa list on their website updated Monday. Agency officials previouslysaid the area is ripe for abuse because companies could try tominimize their foreign profits in an attempt to reduce their taxbills.

President Donald Trump's tax overhaul requires U.S.-basedcompanies to pay tax on the trillions in profits they've stashedabroad since 1986. The new rules set a one-time rate of 15.5percent on cash and 8 percent on non-cash or non-liquid assets.Payments can be made over eight years.