As a business owner, it’s crucial to understand that tax noncompliance can lead to severe tax consequences.
Phyllip Hallman Heaton, owner of Zion Outfitter in Utah, learned this the hard way. Heaton evaded taxes for six years, 2017 through 2022. He did this by underreporting his income, resulting in a tax liability of nearly $1.9 million. He thought that by using the services of a CPA firm, he shields himself from tax consequences and IRS scrutiny. An accountant’s work is as good as the information you provide to your accountant. Mr. Hallman provided incorrect information to his CPA firm and caused the firm to prepare incorrect tax returns. Good CPAs detect red flag issues, ask for additional information, do reconciliations and due diligence work. This way their clients do not encounter IRS issues and in the same time are claiming all deductions and credits.
For Mr. Heaton the tax consequences were severe:
- Imprisonment: Mr. Heaton received a sentence of 5 months in prison and 18 months of supervised release, including 6 months of home detention.
- Fines and Restitution: He was ordered to pay a $95,000 fine and $1,947,906.79 in restitution. He paid these in full during the sentencing hearing.
The Lesson:
- Having a CPA signing your return doesn’t shield you from audits. A good certified accountant should reconcile your books, ask for support documentation and investigate issues that might get you into hot water with the IRS. This is what we do for our clients. But there are a lot of professionals out there that just take the client information and plug it into the tax software, potentially missing credits and deductions and also not catching any IRS red flags.
Keep in mind, that ultimately, the tax compliance is your responsibility, even if you have a CPA signing your return.
If you need a good CPA firm for your business that works with you throughout the year, not only at tax time, contact us.
Please note that this blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal or accounting advice and that new changes in rules and regulations may render this content out of date.
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