Income tax deductions — avoiding taxes is legal, evading them isn’t
There’s a simple difference between avoidance of taxes and evasion of taxes—avoidance is not a crime, evasion is. Make sure you understand the difference when you claim income tax deductions on your return. As the IRS explains, every taxpayer has a right to avoid, reduce, or minimize their taxes by all legitimate means provided for in tax law. Here’s the difference in a nutshell: * It is completely legal to pay the minimum amount of income tax that the law requires. Taxpayers have a right to use legitimate financial strategies for the purpose of reducing or even eliminating their tax liability. They must report these strategies and transactions and provide supporting documents for income tax deductions. A taxpayer who legitimately avoids taxes does not in any way conceal or misrepresent his tax liability.
* Evasion of taxes is a crime. Evasion involves an attempt on the part of a taxpayer to conceal or obscure tax liability by making it seem different from what it is. When the IRS suspects an individual taxpayer of evasion, it must prove that the tax liability was intentionally misrepresented. You’re not guilty of income tax evasion if you make an honest mistake, since it was not your intent to cheat on your return.
If you receive a notification from the IRS informing you of an audit, don’t panic. Suspicion of tax fraud will trigger an IRS audit of your return, of course, but most IRS audits are routine examinations. If you are audited and you have not consciously cheated on your return by claiming fraudulent income tax deductions, you have no reason to worry. In most cases, the IRS wants to clear up a routine accounting procedure; you may be required to explain specific income tax deductions and make an adjustment to your return.
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