Head’s up howard,
The IRS has issued a warning to taxpayers
who are tempted to falsely inflate deductions
or expenses or tax credits on tax returns.
Common areas targeted include charitable
contributions, padding business expenses
or including credits that they are not entitled
to receive – like the Earned Income Tax Credit
or Child Tax Credit, in hopes of getting a larger
refund or paying less than what is owed.
The IRS reminds taxpayers to be careful when
claiming these deductions or credits. Even if a
tax pro preparers your tax return, YOU and you
ALONE are as responsible as if you had filled
out the forms yourself.
AUDITS AND PENALTIES
ARE TRIGGERED BY…
Submitting an accurate tax return is your best
way to avoid triggering an audit. Be aware,
SIGNIFICANT PENALTIES for taxpayers
who file incorrect returns include:
• 20% penalty on disallowed amount for
filing erroneous refunds or tax credits.
• PLUS $5,000 if the IRS determines a
taxpayer has filed a “frivolous tax return.”
A frivolous tax return is one that does
not include enough information to figure
the correct tax or that contains information
clearly showing that the tax reported is
substantially incorrect.
• PLUS an additional penalty of 75 percent
of the amount owed, if the underpayment
on the tax return resulted from tax fraud.
BOTTOM LINE:
Cheatin’ ain’t worth the risk!
ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT…
Taxpayers may be subject to criminal
prosecution and be brought to trial for
actions such as (a) willful failure to file
a return or supply information or pay
any tax due; (b) false statements; (c)
preparing and filing a fraudulent
return and (d) identity theft.
● Prepare and e-file federal taxes free
with IRS Free File (see www.irs.gov)
● Taxpayers with income of $66,000 or
less can file using free brand-name tax
software.
● Those who earned more than $66K, can
use Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic
version of IRS paper forms (www.irs.gov).
● If you are a SMALL-BUSINESS owner
I strongly recommend you use a CPA, EA,
or tax attorney tax who is a seasoned expert
in small-business tax law. Click Here
IMPORTANT CAUTION: YOU are legally
responsible for what is on your tax return,
even if it is prepared by someone else.
RECOMMENDATION: As soon as your
tax preparer sends you your forms to sign,
schedule a phone consultation to review
everything on your tax returns BEFORE
you sign it.
FINAL REMINDER: Your tax professional’s
job is NOT to save you as much taxes as
possible. It is to file an accurate tax return
based on information YOU provide them.
Ronald R. ‘Ron’ Mueller, MBA, Ph.D.
Helping THOUSANDS to SAVE a BUNDLE
by Creating Tax-Smart Home-Business Owners
Speaker, Educator and Author
www.HomeBusinessTaxSavings.com
P.S.
The law requires you to have adequate
records to document every tax deduction
you claim. If yOu have any lost, missing
or incomplete tax deduction records,
Click HERE for help.
