Legal Representation For Audits And Tax Evasion: How Your Tax Accountant Can Prove Your Innocence
Your tax accountant, regardless of which firm he or she works for, offers you a service that you may have passed up. This service provides you with additional legal support and representation in the event of an audit. It also protects you if the government accuses you of tax evasion. This is how it works.
Audit Protection
Most of the national tax accounting chains offer audit protection for a flat fee. In the event that the IRS selects you to audit in any given year, the audit protection plan kicks in and your accountant pulls up all previous years' forms and related paperwork. He or she appears before the auditor with you and on your behalf to prove that all of your taxes are in order, according to the paperwork he or she has filed on your behalf. If you have some tricky tax situations or fall into a high audit risk bracket, you may want to seriously consider purchasing the audit protection package.
Legal Representation for Tax Evasion
In most cases you will have to hire your own lawyer, but your accountant can accompany your lawyer into the courtroom to provide evidence of your innocence. (Depending on who you hire to do your taxes every year, you may not need to hire a lawyer on your own as one is provided in the package deal.) Nobody likes being accused of something they didn't do, and with the records supplied by your tax accountant and a proper defense by your lawyer, you can avoid prison. As part of the audit protection package that many tax accountants offer, you can purchase this type of tax protection either in addition to, or included in, the price of the audit protection.
When and Why You May Want to Purchase These Extra Services
Although most people may go their entire lives without ever being audited or face tax evasion charges, that does not mean it cannot happen to you. Tax situations which elevate your risk include ownership of multiple properties, ownership of stocks and investments of any kind, business ownership, the employment of one or more people in your home or business, and claiming more than five dependents on your taxes. If any of these situations apply to you, then you might fall into a high risk tax category for scrutinization by the IRS. Even though you may feel that you have nothing to hide and do not want to purchase the extra services offered by your accountant, in these instances it becomes added peace of mind and protection, just in case.
