Tax Evasion Lawyers in Richmond

Tax evasion is a crime in Virginia. Tax evasion involves purposely failing to pay one's taxes.

Typically, tax evasion is accompanied by an attempt to make it appear to the government of Richmond, Virginia that one's tax liability is lower than it actually is. This can include concealing income, making fraudulent transfers of property, and other illegal activities.

You should not confuse "tax evasion" with "tax avoidance." Tax evasion is illegal, and involves deliberately failing to pay one's taxes which they lawfully owe. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is legal, and involves utilizing legal strategies to lower one's legal tax liability. For example, strategically using deductions and tax credits to lower the amount of money you are legally obliged to pay, is an example of tax avoidance, assuming you actually pay your tax bill, whatever it ends up being.

Penalties for Tax Evasion in Richmond, Virginia

Both federal law and the law of Virginia treat tax evasion as a serious criminal offense.

Punishments for evading one's taxes in Richmond range from paying back taxes plus interest (a relatively mild punishment) all the way up to years in prison, and penalties in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Typically, an initial offense of tax evasion, if the amount of tax evaded is comparatively small, will not result in jail time or massive fines. This is particularly the case if the government has trouble proving that the failure to pay taxes was the result of willful evasion, as opposed to an honest error in accounting.

However, if the relevant tax authorities are able to demonstrate that a taxpayer in Richmond, Virginia committed willful fraud, in order to evade their legal duty to pay taxes, a tax court is probably going to impose a more severe penalty, which may include jail time, and large financial penalties.

A Richmond, Virginia Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help

Tax lawyers in Richmond, Virginia can help anyone from an individual to a big business pay their taxes more quickly, and adhere with federal and local tax laws.

However, if you're actually accused of tax evasion, you will need a Richmond, Virginia tax attorney more than ever. If you are, in fact, innocent, a tax attorney can give you the best possible chance of being found not guilty.