Tax Evasion Lawyers in Elkins

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

One of the most common frequent tactics of tax evaders in Elkins, West Virginia is to attempt to make it appear to an outside observer that their tax liability is lower than it really is, such as by concealing income, fraudulently transferring property, and others.

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 Elkins, West Virginia

The laws of the federal government, as well as West Virginia take tax evasion extremely seriously, making it a crime.

In Elkins, the penalties for tax evasion can range from a court order to pay back taxes, plus a small fine, and range all the way up to penalties in the tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars, and imprisonment.

Usually, 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 intentional evasion, as opposed to an honest error in accounting.

But if the government is able to definitively show that a defendant in Elkins, West Virginia intentionally engaged in fraud to get out of paying taxes, a tax court is very unlikely to show any leniency, and may well sentence the defendant to prison time.

A Elkins, West Virginia Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help

An attorney in Elkins, West Virginia specializing in tax law can help you adhere with all the tax laws that apply to you, which makes it very unlikely that you'll ever be accused of tax evasion in the first place.

However, if you're really accused of tax evasion, you will need an Elkins, West 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.