For many residents of New York, filing your taxes can seem overly complicated, and unless you earn your living working as a certified public accountant, you may find that you make more than a few guesses or estimates when getting ready to file. At Russo, Karl, Widmaier & Cordano, PLLC, we understand that, often, people make mistakes on their taxes not out of malice, but because of a lack of knowledge or understanding about the process, and we have helped many clients facing serious tax issues pursue solutions that fit their unique needs.
According to GoBankingRates, the Internal Revenue Service is increasing its efforts to identify fraudulent tax activities, and this means that any errors you make could potentially leave you facing serious consequences. Ultimately, in order for you to wind up facing charges of tax fraud, two primary things must occur. First, you must still owe a balance on your taxes, and second, you must have had fraudulent intent when filing them in the first place.
Just what sorts of activities might draw the intention of the IRS and lead to allegations of tax fraud? Claiming credits you are unentitled to is a big one, and this can land you in trouble if you incorrectly try to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, but you make too much money to legally do so.
Similarly, claiming the wrong deductions can also land you in trouble. There are, for example, strict rules dictating what types of expenses constitute “business expenses,” so trying to file, say, a tropical family vacation as a business expense can also land you in serious hot water. When it comes to filing your taxes, rules matter. If you commit tax fraud, you run the risk of potentially facing not only financial repercussions but criminal ones, too.
This copy is educational in nature and is not meant to serve as a replacement for legal advice.
