Unfiled Tax Returns: Getting Help When You Don’t Know Where To Start

“I got a notice from the IRS about my unfiled taxes. It says I need to file immediately. But I don’t even know where to start,” Joanne, who lives in West Roxbury, MA, said. “I don’t know where my W-2s are; the restaurant I worked at then is out of business now. What am I going to do?”

Unfiled Tax Returns: Time is of the Essence

“The one thing you don’t want to do when you have unfiled tax returns is wait,” said Matthew J. Previte, a Massachusetts CPA who specializes in tax problems. “The longer you wait, the harder it becomes for someone like me to help you. After 10 years, it becomes impossible to get certain information from the IRS. But if you’re in that window, it’s still possible for a tax professional to get the information you need from the IRS.”

“Filing your return is important,” Previte notes, “because if you don’t file, the IRS will file a return for you. When the IRS creates what is known as a Substitute For Return (SFR), they’re not acting in your best interest. They don’t look for the deductions you’re eligible for, or identify the most favorable filing status for your situation. They’re just after their money!”

Unfiled Tax Returns: You Deserve Help

Don’t try filing your late tax returns on your own. You deserve the help of an experienced tax professional who will prepare an accurate return that helps you minimize your tax obligation. Why pay more taxes than you have to?

IRS deadlines are nothing to trifle with! When you receive a notice from the IRS, you need to act on it right away. Get help from a qualified MA tax professional. Getting your tax problems solved will stop the stress. Call right away. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know where to start or don’t have your W-2s or 1099s. We can help you!

What Happens If I Don’t File My Taxes for 3 Years?

“Back in 2010, I had a rough year. My Dad died, work was nuts – it just wasn’t a good time,” Glenn , who lives in Southborough, MA, shook his head. “Did I do everything I was supposed to? No.  I didn’t file my income tax that year. Was I intentionally doing something wrong? No – but the fact I didn’t file in 2010 prevented me from filing in 2011 or 2012. What’s going to happen to me?”

Unfiled Tax Returns: Your Questions Answered

Not filing a tax return on time is one of the most common tax problems.  The IRS estimates that 10 million people fail to file their taxes in any given year: if you have unfiled tax returns, you’re not alone.

“I thought the IRS was going to catch up with me right away,” Glenn said. “I expected a knock on my door way back in May 2010. But nothing happened. Now I’m not sure if I slipped through the cracks or if the IRS is going to come after me tomorrow. It’s very stressful.”

Having unfiled tax returns is like walking across a minefield – without any minesweeping equipment! You never know when the whole situation is going to blow up in your face. The truth is that it’s very difficult to predict exactly when the IRS is going to come after you. The IRS’ enforcement capabilities have increased with advances in technology: they’re pursuing unfiled returns much faster than was previously the case. If you haven’t filed your taxes, you should know it’s only a matter of time until you’ll hear from the IRS.

Turn the Situation Around: Get Help Now

Choose an experienced tax problem solver to handle your unfiled tax return situation. It’s always better to file your tax returns before the IRS contacts you!

That way you’ll have an accurate understanding of what your financial situation is. Working with an experienced MA tax professional, you may discover that you owe less taxes than you thought – or that you’re actually entitled to a tax refund! It happens more often than you might think.

Being proactive about your unfiled tax returns buys you time to act strategically. Having more time to find deductions, gather bank statements, and handle all of the other paperwork associated with filing late tax returns is always advantageous to the taxpayer.

Finally, having your MA tax problem solver handle your unfiled tax returns helps you avoid criminal prosecution.  “I really didn’t want to go to jail for criminal failure to file,” Glenn said. “I’m just starting to get my life turned around and back on the right track! Going to jail is not part of my plan.”

While criminal prosecution against taxpayers who fail to file is relatively rare, it’s important to know that IRS policy is generally not to pursue action against taxpayers who voluntarily file late tax returns.  Avoid expensive fines and penalties, as well as the stress and anxiety that comes from living with unpaid tax returns, by getting help now. It’s never too late to file a tax return!

Man Indicted for Falsifying Charitable Deductions

accountingtoday.com
Los Angeles (June 21, 2011)

A Santa Monica man was arrested Friday morning on charges that he committed tax fraud and attempted to interfere with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

Howard Hal Berger, 51, appeared Monday morning before U.S. District Court Judge John F. Walter. Berger previously pleaded not guilty to the charges specified in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury late last week.

According to the indictment, Berger filed a partnership income tax return for Lab Holdings LLC for the 2006 tax year which falsely reported a contribution of $1 million, substantially reducing his income tax liability.

In addition, Berger filed an individual income tax return for the 2006 tax year which falsely reported gifts to charity of $991,700 on the attached schedule of itemized deductions.

While under audit by the Internal Revenue Service, Berger submitted a false charitable donation letter in an attempt to substantiate the deduction for gifts to charity taken on the 2006 individual income tax return.

If convicted of all charges specified in the indictment, Berger faces up to nine years in prison and fines totaling $750,000. Berger is currently free on bond pending trial. A trial is scheduled for Aug. 9, 2011, before Judge Walter.

The investigation of Berger was conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

Actor Wesley Snipes reports to prison to begin sentence

From Michael Martinez, CNN
December 9, 2010 1:28 p.m. EST
(CNN) — Actor Wesley Snipes reported to a medium-security Pennsylvania prison Thursday to begin a three-year sentence for failing to file tax returns.

The 48-year-old actor is now incarcerated in McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Lewis Run, officials said.

Snipes’ attorney said he is appealing his client’s misdemeanor convictions for not filing tax returns in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Snipes was acquitted of felony charges.

Snipes is nervous, he said, but hopeful that his prayers will be answered.

“We still have prayers out there. We still believe in miracles. So don’t send me up the river yet,” Snipes said in an interview on CNN’s “Larry King Live” Tuesday night.

The actor conceded he was uneasy about losing his freedom if his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court fails.

“I think any man would be nervous if his liberty is at stake,” Snipes said. “I’m disappointed that the system seems not to be working for me in this situation.”

Prosecutors said Snipes earned $40 million since 1999 but had filed no returns and had been involved in a tax resisters group.

Snipes disputed such involvement and said that the failure to file was his advisers’ fault.

“This is another thing that has been misreported: It has been framed that I was a conspirator and that I was an architect in a scheme by an organization that has been characterized as tax protesters,” Snipes said. “The press hasn’t reported that I was a client of people who I trusted (who) had knowledge and expertise in the areas of tax law that would protect my interests.”

Snipes is best known for his roles in the “Blade” action films, the comedy film “White Men Can’t Jump” and the drama “Jungle Fever.”

In February, a jury convicted Snipes on the misdemeanor charges, but he was acquitted of more serious felony charges of tax fraud and conspiracy. Jurors accepted his argument that he was innocently duped by errant tax advisers.

Defense attorneys in court documents suggested that to sentence Snipes harshly would be to disregard the jury’s verdict.

But prosecutors, in their sentencing recommendation, said the jurors’ decision “has been portrayed in the mainstream media as a ‘victory’ for Snipes. The troubling implication of such coverage for the millions of average citizens who are aware of this case is that the rich and famous Wesley Snipes has ‘gotten away with it.’ In the end the criminal conduct of Snipes must not be seen in such a light.”

Snipes suggested he was unfairly singled out by prosecutors.

“It does seem to be rather unusual and rather bizarre when you had a prosecutor come into the sentencing and say that this is the biggest tax trial in the history of the IRS,” Snipes said. “I think there is a certain amount of selectivity going on here.”

Snipes indicated he was disturbed by some public comments that he was receiving “just punishment.”

“It’s been presented as though I’m worthy of this punishment,” Snipes said. “I’ve been a law-abiding citizen ever since I grew up in the Bronx, New York.”

One juror, Frank Tuttle, gave Larry King Live a written statement that three other jurors had made up their mind that Snipes was guilty before the trial began.

The jury’s verdict was a compromise between those jurors who thought Snipes was guilty and those who didn’t, Tuttle said in the statement.

“That’s when a deal was made to find him guilty on the failure to file taxes and not guilty on the federal tax evasion charges,” Tuttle said in the statement. “We did not think he would go to jail.”

Snipes’ attorney, Daniel R. Meachum, said neither he nor Snipes had any involvement in preparing that juror’s statement to Larry King Live, saying the show’s producers obtained it on their own.

“We on the defense team never suggested that the media reach out to any of the jurors,” Meachum said.

Snipes contended that some media accounts of his trial have distorted public perceptions.

“There have been some egregious and very malicious efforts to report the facts of this case,” Snipes said. “I was never charged with tax evasion. I’ve never been a tax protester.”

Snipes said he has paid his taxes.

“They claimed that there was a certain number that was owed and that number has been all over that place. The press has escalated it and changed it a number of times. But we think we are fully compliant with what was owed,” Snipes said.

CNN’s Jessica Thill contributed to this story.