Craig H. Zetley Tax Audits Law Blog on Lawyers.com

In the U.S., taxpayers are able to minimize the amount of taxes they owe through all lawful means, including tax deductions for charitable contributions or for other valid reasons.  However, attempting to reduce tax liabilities—by failing to report income, claiming inappropriate deductions, exaggerating the value or size of a charitable deduction, or underreporting the value of property—constitutes tax evasion, and is a crime. Tax evasion is an umbrella term for any action that willfully seeks the evasion of payment of lawfully owed taxes, and includes both filing a false tax return and failure to file a tax return.

Tax evasion legal charges and penalties

Here in United States, tax evasion charges can result in a wide variety of civil penalties or criminal charges.

Failure to file a federal tax return can result in a $25,000 fine, even if the failure was the result of negligence.  Intentional failure to file a tax return can result in felony charges and a possible fine of up to $100,000 or up to 5 years in jail.

While there is a six-year statute of limitations on criminal charges for tax evasion, the IRS never loses the ability to seek out taxpayers and demand payment for non-filed taxes.

If a tax return is filed after the deadline, the IRS can impose a late-filing penalty of five percent per month up to 25 percent and can also impose a late payment penalty.  Additionally, unpaid taxes accrue interest. These civil penalties are not subject to a statue of limitations and can be applied indefinitely.

Prosecuting tax evasion

In order to be charged with crim inal evasion of taxes, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division must first determine that the government has a strong case against you.  Once it has decided to press a criminal case, the Tax Division of the Justice Department accepts the case and legal proceedings may begin shortly.  The IRS and the Justice Department only prosecute cases with a high chance of obtaining conviction and in which the taxes owed average around $70,000. 80 percent of tax cases result in a conviction, and half of those result in incarceration.

Contact a tax evasion law firm

If you have engaged in tax evasion either through negligence or intentionally, you should seek the skilled counsel of a tax evasion lawyer immediately.  Mounting a strong tax evasion defense requires not only a comprehensive knowledge of the Internal Revenue Code but also a working understanding of federal criminal code.  The lawyers at Zetley Law Offices, S.C. have the kind of expertise needed to successfully fight for you. Contact them today.