TAX EVASION: A MISTAKE YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE

No matter how you look at it, tax evasion is illegal. And for that reason, it can result in serious consequences that have the potential to affect your personal and financial future.

Tax evasion is charactered as any activity in which you avoid paying a tax liability. Some instances of evasion are more serious than others, but there’s never a good time to press your luck.

THE MANY TYPES OF TAX EVASION

Tax evasion comes in many forms. Here are some of the most common examples:

• Underreporting income to pay less in taxes
• Falsifying income records, such as by keeping two sets of books
• Claiming false expenses, credits or deductions
• Claiming illegitimate depends on your tax return

The one thing you need to remember is that it’s only tax evasion if you intentionally defraud the government. There’s a big difference between evasion and a simple mistake, such as a math error.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Should you find that you’re being charged with tax evasion, you can’t turn your head and hope for the best. You must turn your attention to the issue at hand. The IRS isn’t going to let you hide from them, and doing so will only make matters worse.

The first step in defending your legal rights is to learn more about your charges. Find out why the IRS thinks you’ve violated the law.

Once you understand what you’re up against, you can begin to collect information pertaining to the tax return (or tax returns) in question. Maybe there’s a good reason for the IRS to dig deeper. Or maybe you find that they have no basis for their claim. Either way, an understanding of the finer details will allow you to take the steps necessary in protecting your legal rights.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of taking small steps here and there as a means of reducing your tax liability. However, when you do this, you could run afoul of the IRS, thus resulting in serious criminal charges. At that point, the best thing you can do is learn more about your legal rights and how to protect them.