When a person fails to report all of his or her income or intentionally fails to pay taxes, it could land him or her in hot water. The Internal Revenue Service takes instances of tax evasion and fraud seriously, and if convicted, you could be facing penalties that may impact the rest of your life. You would be wise to take an investigation for, or formal charges of, tax fraud seriously.
Tax law is complicated, and it’s not always simple for the average person to know what he or she should include or not include on a tax return. However, there is a distinct difference between knowingly underpaying or underreporting, and committing an accidental error. If you are in trouble because of issues related to your taxes, you may want to learn more about what tax fraud means and how you can build a strong defense.
What counts as tax fraud?
Making a mistake on your taxes or avoiding paying taxes is not criminal, but intentionally failing to make payment of taxes you owe is always a crime. The IRS, if they suspect this, will initiate an investigation into your activities and your financial background. Examples of fraud include the following:
- Taking payments for work or other things and failing to report them as income
- Deliberately paying less taxes than you owe
- Deliberately underreporting income so that you will owe less taxes
- Concealing certain types of financial accounts from the IRS
- Transferring assets to other accounts or hiding them in order to avoid reporting them
- Creating false expenses related to your business operations
- Claiming charitable deductions more than the amount given
- Destroying financial records or using two sets of books
- Claiming a dependent you do not support or have never supported
- Failing to file returns even if you make substantial income or after the IRS contacted you
These are only some examples of how tax fraud may happen. If you are facing accusations of evasion or fraud, it could lead to serious legal or financial trouble. Criminal charges can arise from these allegations, and you can start working immediately on a way to protect yourself and your long-term interests.
Speaking with an experienced Indiana defense attorney can allow you to better understand the legal options available to you at this time. It is not easy to deal with the IRS and craft an effective defense strategy, but you do not have to take one step of this process alone.