Tax Evasion Lawyers in Leon County

"Tax Evasion" refers to the crime of intentionally failing to pay one's taxes, as required by Florida law.

Most frequently, people who try to evade their taxes in Leon County, Florida will take steps to harbor their assets and income, or transferring their property to other legal entities in a fraudulent manner.

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 using 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 Leon County, Florida

Under the laws of Florida, as well as federal law, tax evasion is a very serious criminal offense.

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

However, the punishments for tax evasion, especially first offenses involving relatively small amounts of money, is not typically so severe, especially when it looks like the failure to pay taxes was the result of an honest mistake, rather than deliberate fraud.

But if the government is able to definitively establish that a defendant in Leon County, Florida intentionally engaged in fraud to get out of paying taxes, a tax court is highly unlikely to show any leniency, and may well sentence the defendant to prison time.

A Leon County, Florida Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help

A Leon County, Florida attorney who specializes in tax law can help ensure that you are in compliance with all applicable tax laws, making an accusation of tax evasion less likely.

However, if you're truly accused of tax evasion, you will need a Leon County, Florida 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.