Austin, Bastrop, Buda, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Pflugerville, Round Rock, San Antonio & South Texas IRS & Tax Fraud Criminal Defense Attorney

IRS Tax Fraud Defense Lawyer

In most tax audits the IRS is only interested in collecting the taxes owed, plus interest along with a few penalties. Perhaps the IRS might impose a negligence penalty or a late filing penalty. However, if during the tax audit the IRS suspects that you have committed tax fraud they can impose a civil tax fraud penalty. The civil tax fraud penalty is equal to 75% of the tax owed, plus interest on the penalty. Worse yet the IRS tax auditor might ask the tax fraud referral specialist to look at your case to see if it should be sent to the IRS Criminal Investigation unit for criminal tax prosecution. The IRS tax fraud referral specialist is usually not a tax lawyer, however, he has experience in tax fraud cases, and will seek the advice of the IRS' own tax fraud lawyers for help if it seems necessary.

Tax crimes include filing a false tax return, tax evasion, filing false documents, failure to collect employment taxes, failure to pay taxes, and failing to file a tax return. The penalties for criminal tax fraud are very serious. They range up to 5 years in jail, plus fines of up to $500,000, plus the costs of prosecution for each separate tax crime. Once the criminal tax case is completed the IRS Criminal Investigation unit will refer the case back to the IRS Examination Division where the taxes will be assessed, and the IRS can be expected to add on the civil tax fraud penalty, on top of any criminal tax fraud fines.

Clients sometimes ask, "What is the difference between tax fraud, and a simple mistake?" Generally tax fraud or tax evasion involves an intentional wrongdoing. Mere carelessness is not tax fraud. The IRS decides whether tax fraud has been committed by looking for badges of tax fraud. These badges include:

understatements of income;
inadequate records;
failure to file tax returns;
implausible or inconsistent explanations of behavior;
concealment of assets;
failure to cooperate with tax authorities;
engaging in illegal activities;
attempting to conceal illegal activities;
dealing in cash; and
failure to make estimated tax payments.

If you have any of these tax problems and you are audited by the IRS you may need to engage a tax fraud attorney. Actions you take during the course of a tax audit can turn a run of the mill tax controversy into a tax fraud case. For example, lying or giving evasive answers to IRS investigators, delaying tactics, and other actions designed to mislead IRS agents are all indicia of tax fraud.

Call us now at (512) 3380-LAW.

Click here for a helpful Tax Fraud video.

We serve the following States, Cities, Zip Codes and Counties:
Texas, Austin TX 78731, Georgetown TX 78626, Cedar Park TX 78630, Westlake TX 78746, Pflugerville 78660, Bastrop TX 78602, San Antonio TX 78248, Corpus Christi TX 78401, Harlingen TX 78550, Houston TX 77024, Waco TX 76701, Killeen TX 76540, Alamo Heights TX 78209, Hill Country Village TX 78232, Lakeway TX 78734, Southlake TX 76092, Lago Vista TX 78645, Dallas TX 75225, Ft. Worth TX 76177, Del Rio TX 78847, Laredo TX 78040, Eagle Pass TX 78853, Brownsville TX 78520, Edinburg TX 78539, El Paso TX 79901, Giddings TX 78942, Goliad TX 77963, Gonzales TX 78629,Helotes TX 78023, Hewitt TX 76643, Hutto TX 78634, Liberty Hill TX 78642, Burnet TX 78611, Katy TX 77450, Kerrville TX 78028, Kyle TX 78640, La Grange TX 78945, Laguna Vista TX 78578, Lampasas TX 76550, Las Colinas TX 75062, League City TX 77573, Lockhart TX 78644, Hutto TX 78634, Lubbock TX 79401, Lufkin TX 75901, McAllen TX 78501, Midland TX 79701, Nacogdoches TX 75961, Fredericksburg TX 78624, New Braunfels TX 78130, Odessa TX 79760, Pearland TX 77581, Pharr TX 78577, Pleasanton TX 78064, Port Aransas TX 78373, Port Arthur TX 77640, Port Isabel TX 78578, Port Lavaca TX 77979, Poteet TX 78065, Rockdale TX 76567, Rockwall TX 75032, Round Rock TX 78664, San Angelo TX 76901, San Antonio TX 78259, Schertz TX 78109, Seguin TX 78155, Seagoville TX 75159, Shavano Park TX 78231, Shreveport TX 71101, South Padre Island TX 78597, Sugar Land TX 77478, Sulphur Springs TX 75482, Sweetwater TX 79556, Taylor TX 76574, Texarkana TX 75501, The Woodlands TX 77380, Tyler TX 75701, Universal City TX 78148, Uvalde TX 78801, Victoria TX 77901, Waco TX 76701, West Lake Hills TX 78746, Wichita Falls TX 76301, Woodlake TX 75865, Woodlands TX 77381, Westlkake TX 76262, White Oak TX 75693, Zavalla TX 75980, Travis County, Williamson County, Hays County, Bell County, Bexar County, Anderson County, Bandera County, Baylor County, Bee County, Blanco County, Brazoria County, Brazos County, Bricoe County, Brooks County, Burleson County, Burnet County, Caldwell County, Cameron County, Collin County, Dallas County, Denton County, Ector County, Ellis County, El Paso County, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, Grayson County, Gregg County, Guadalupe County, Harris County, Hays County, Henderson County, Hidalgo County, Hunt County, Jefferson County, Johnson County, Kaufman County, Kerr County, Lamar County, Liberty County, Lubbock County, McLennan County, Matagorda County, Midland County, Montgomery County, Nueces County, Orange County, Parker County, Potter County, Randall County, Smith County, Tarrant County, Taylor County, Travis County, Val Verde County, Victoria County, Walker County, Webb County, Wichita County, Williamson County