Free Consultation: 858.450.1040 Payment | Client Login

MENUMENU
  • EDD
  • IRS
    • IRS Notices – What They Mean
  • About Us
    • MEET THE TEAM
    • PRACTICE AREAS
    • CONTACT US
  • TAX LAW & EDD RESOURCES
    • SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS TAX LAW GUIDE
    • EDD & IRS AUDITS
    • CRIMINAL TAX
    • SAN DIEGO TAX ATTORNEY
    • Orange County Tax Attorney Services
    • TAX BALANCE
    • INNOCENT SPOUSE RELIEF
    • OTHER TAX LAW MATTERS
    • SALES TAX AUDITS
    • UNFILED TAX RETURNS
    • OFFERS IN COMPROMISE
    • CALIFORNIA INCOME TAXES
    • INTERNATIONAL TAX
    • TAX COLLECTIONS
    • CORPORATE | BUSINESS TAX
    • PAYROLL TAX AUDITS
    • TAX LEIN
    • FAQs
  • SBA Loan Resources
    • PPP FORGIVENESS DENIAL APPEAL
    • SBA Criminal Defense
    • FAQs
  • RESOURCES
    • Blog
    • VIDEO LIBRARY
Home > Blog > What to Know About Tax Evasion and Avoidance

What to Know About Tax Evasion and Avoidance

July 11, 2021

While nobody wants to be responsible for paying any more taxes than is absolutely necessary, it’s critical to remain aware of the fine line between getting creative with your tax responsibilities in a legal way, and taking it too far into tax evasion or avoidance. The latter should be avoided if you don’t want to land yourself as the subject of a government audit, or even in prison. 

 

In 2019, IRS declared a tax gap of $441 billion, representing the difference between the amount of taxes that should have been collected, and how much was collected.  

 

Despite this significant total of uncollected taxes, the same year, IRS audited only 0.4% of individual taxpayers in 2019, and only 6.2% of corporations. 

 

While there are certain behaviors and triggers that may result in IRS auditing your business, it is clear that they are incapable of fully keeping up with the full amount of audits needed to regulate all taxpayers. 

 

What is tax evasion?

 

Tax evasion is defined as “the use of illegal means to avoid paying taxes.” Some examples of actions that may be labeled as tax evasion include the following:

  • Purposely underpaying your taxes
  • Underreporting your annual income
  • Claiming false deductions
  • Hiding interest
  • Falsifying records

 

What’s the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance?

 

While tax evasion is an illegal practice, tax avoidance is the act of legal strategic tax planning. While the actions listed above are unlawful and enlist deceitful and dishonest tactics to avoid paying the funds for which they were responsible, tax avoidance involves simply reworking their options to minimize the total amount that they are responsible for paying.  

 

Some examples may include the use of tax-advantaged savings accounts (such as those for retirement or educational purposes), contributing to charitable organizations, or avoiding realized capital gains. 

 

The point in which tax avoidance transitions to tax evasion is a gray area. Oftentimes the average taxpayer may not be equipped to determine at what point this line is crossed. As such, the best practice is to consult with a tax attorney or tax law professional to ensure that your actions do not lead to potential consequences including those mentioned below. 

 

Potentially penalties for tax evasion

 

Tax evasion is a criminal offense and has the potential to lead to jail time. 

 

The average jail time for tax evasion ranges between three to five years. It varies on a case-by-case basis, but jail time for tax evasion occurs more often than one would think. What other penalties exist for tax evasion?

 

According to Internal Revenue Code, “Any person who willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any tax imposed by this title or the payment thereof shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100,000 ($500,000 in the case of a corporation), or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.”

 

Needless to say, IRS takes tax evasion seriously. With a 90.4% conviction rate on criminal cases, going up against the IRS criminal investigations department is not to be taken lightly. 

 

You may be able to show that there was no intent to defraud the government if you are able to prove that there was a legitimate miscalculation of taxes. With proper guidance, it is possible to partake in tax resolution negotiations with IRS or state tax authorities. It is always advised that you receive counseling from an experienced tax attorney who can help in creating a defensive strategy to bolster your case. 

 

The attorneys at Milikowsky Tax Law have extensive experience in dealing with tax evasion charges. Contact us today with further questions or to discuss your case. 

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Audit, California Taxes, Corporate Tax Compliance, Filing taxes, IRS, Tax Attorney, tax avoidance, tax evasion, Tax Preparation, Tax Season, taxes

Archives

Search

Categories

Questions About
Tax Audit/Controversies?

A representative will be in contact within 1 business day
PRIVACY POLICY

Get Monthly Updates on Important Tax Law Matters



Milikowsky Tax Law is located at: 4250 Executive Square, Ste. 650, La Jolla, CA 92037
o. (858) 450-1040 | m. (858) 212-0542 |
Privacy Policy

DISCLAIMER:
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

Milikowsky Tax Law © All Rights Reserved. Clear1099.com | Cal1099.com | California1099.com © All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT