Those who prepare income tax returns including CPAs, tax attorneys, enrolled agents, and non-enrolled tax return preparers often find themselves the subject of a civil audit or even worse a criminal investigation relating to their tax preparation work.
A number of civil penalties can be imposed against income tax return preparers including:
• Aiding and abetting the understatement of a tax liability.
• Failure by an income tax return preparer to comply with the due diligence requirements with respect to determining a taxpayers eligibility for or amount of the earned income credit.
• Disclosing or using any tax return information other than to prepare or assist in preparing the taxpayers return.
• Failure by an income tax return preparer to retain a completed copy of the return or a record of the taxpayers name, identification number, taxable year and type of return prepared.
• Failure by an income tax return preparer to furnish a required taxpayer identification number.
• Failure by an income tax return preparer to furnish a copy of the tax return to the taxpayer.
• Failure by an income tax return preparer to sign a required return.
Tax Attorney Lawrence Brown has represented numerous tax return preparers since 1992. He often represents attorneys and CPAs in their own tax disputes. Lawrence Brown is a former Trial Attorney with the Department of Justice Tax Division. His private practice focuses on resolving complex civil and criminal tax disputes affecting prominent businesses and high net-worth individuals.
If you are a tax return preparer that is the subject of a civil audit or an IRS criminal investigation, contact Brown, PC. Our main offices are centrally located in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas metroplex and we represent tax return preparers throughout the United States. Call 888-870-0025 or e-mail the law firm through this Web site for legal counsel related to tax return preparation.
