News and Events

For small business owners in the United States, complying with the federal income tax reporting and payment obligations can be burdensome, but it is also extremely important. The IRS audits countless small businesses every year; and, with the recent formation of the Small Business/Self Employed Division’s Fraud Enforcement Office, small businesses can expect to face enhanced scrutiny in 2020 and beyond.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the formation of a new office that will specifically target small business tax fraud. The Fraud Enforcement Office, housed within the IRS’s Small Business/Self Employed Division, will begin working with IRS Criminal Investigations (CI) and the IRS’s civil enforcement divisions in 2020.

On March 21, 2020 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extended the income tax filing and payment deadline for 2020 to July 15. The extension applies to 2019 annual income tax returns as well as first-quarter estimated tax payments for 2020.

IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) is the division of the Internal Revenue Service that is tasked with targeting individuals suspects of committing federal tax crimes. It is extremely active, and each month CI announces dozens of indictments, guilty pleas and sentences in cases involving ordinary taxpayers. Here is just a small sampling of the cases that CI prosecuted in February 2020:

IRS audits of offshore accounts can lead to substantial penalties; and, if an audit reveals evidence of willful misconduct, the federal government can pursue criminal charges carrying the potential for exorbitant fines and years behind bars.