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San Jose Tax Law Offices

For any of your tax planning compliance and controversy needs in San Jose, contact the Lawyers at The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing today. Our experienced Tax Lawyers offer a reduced-rate initial consultation on new cases or engagements. Call 408-643-0573 or 800-681-1295 or contact us online today to schedule a reduced rate initial consultation at our San Jose tax law offices or at one of our other convenient locations across Northern California.

San Jose Tax Attorney and CPA

For those who run businesses and work in the San Jose area, the wide range of business opportunities is one of the primary benefits of living here. Traditional types of businesses exist alongside cutting-edge start-up businesses that take advantage of the latest technologies.

If you own one of these businesses or work for one, you may have some sophisticated international or domestic tax situations. A dually licensed tax attorney and CPA can help you all along the way, whether you need help completing your taxes, tax planning, or dealing with an audit or other tax controversy situation. We are ready, willing, and able to assist businesses and individuals in the San Jose area. Our dual-licensed San Jose, CA, Business Tax Attorneys & CPAs provide tax planning and preparation services for S corporations, C corporations, limited liability companies, and other business entities. We can file your business income taxes, make sure that you are utilizing beneficial tax credits and deductions, analyze your financial and accounting data to identify areas for improvement, seek tax penalty reductions, and review your company’s policies and protocols to ensure that you are in compliance with current tax law.

For help with the San Jose tax services you need, contact the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing today to schedule a 10-minute call with an experienced attorney. We are able to handle any tax situation you may encounter at the California state, federal, and international levels. We also are ready to provide financial and legal guidance for your business or for your individual needs.

One of The Best Tax Audit Attorneys in San Jose

The Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing is a full-service Tax Law and CPA firm serving individuals and business entities throughout the San Jose, California region. Our skilled and dedicated team of tax professionals, which includes Tax Attorneys and Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) from a diverse array of professional backgrounds, brings nearly three decades of combined experience to a wide range of civil and criminal tax defense issues, enabling us to deliver the high level of quality and in-depth analysis that your matter deserves. Whether your tax issue involves a foreign bank account, unfiled tax business and personal returns, an audit or criminal tax investigation, tax issues associated with divorce or estate planning, questions about effective tax planning for your business, or another question concerning California state, federal, or international taxation, count on the San Jose Tax Lawyers and CPAs at the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing for sound and strategic financial and legal guidance. Contact us online or call (408) 643-0573 or (800) 681-1295 to schedule your reduced-rate initial consultation today. Our practice areas for federal and California state tax audits encompass (but are not limited to) the following:

Industry-specific Audits:
- Car Dealership Audits
- Dentist Audits
- Veterinarian Audits
- Attorney / Legal Industry Audits
- Doctor’s / Medical Industry Audits
- Real Estate Professional Audits
- Audits of Cash Intensive Businesses (Liquor Stores, Bars, Restaurants, Laundromats)
- Non-Filer Compliance Issues

Should I Hire a Tax Professional Who has dual licensure as Both a Tax Attorney and a CPA?

With all the complexities that come with issues related to your business and personal taxes, it can be confusing to figure out what kind of tax professional can best assist you in achieving the dual goals of full IRS compliance and the smallest possible tax bill. Many taxpayers find themselves in a situation where they are uncertain if they need the assistance of a Tax Attorney or a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). While it is typically best to choose a Tax Attorney for tax planning and tax controversy, and a CPA is often preferable for straight tax compliance, if you must decide between the two, the best choice you can make is to hire someone who is both a Licensed Tax Attorney and a Certified Public Accountant, like the tax professionals at the Law Offices of David W. Klasing. We can provide you with the most comprehensive level of service due to our education, experience, and training in both highly technical fields.

How Can a CPA Help Me with My Taxes?

CPAs are considered the cream of the crop when it comes to accounting professionals due to the breadth of education and training they are required to go through in such diverse areas as tax law, bookkeeping, business law and planning, and investment strategy. CPAs commonly assist large and small business owners with year-round record and bookkeeping as well as other tasks. As it pertains to taxes, CPAs are trained to know the proper way to maintain records to fully support and defend any subsequent tax audit and can help you accurately and completely fill out and file your tax returns each year. Furthermore, especially upon their first being hired, skilled CPAs can fully understand your financial records and identify and correct potential problem areas that could lead to issues with the IRS or California State taxing authorities in the future.

How Can a Licensed Tax Attorney Help Me with My Taxes?

Tax Attorneys must go through a rigorous process in order to be licensed, including completing law school and passing the bar exam. They usually have some specialized training or certification in the complex field of tax law. A tax attorney is likely not to be trained in book and record-keeping but is more trained in helping you devise long-term plans and resolve short-term tax issues or disputes. They are indispensable in representing you during high-risk audits to ensure that your rights are respected, to defend you against any civil assessment of additional tax penalties or interest, and in mitigating the potential for criminal tax charges to be investigated and then prosecuted by the IRS and Income Tax Division of the Department of Justice.

For tax matters where criminal tax liability is even a remote possibility, meaning any situation where you willingly committed some sort of tax fraud, it will be vital to hire an experienced Tax Attorney who is intimately familiar with criminal tax law, rules of evidence, as well as the ins and outs of the state and federal court systems and, as a last resort, the plea bargaining processes.

Perhaps the most important advantage offered by retaining a Tax Attorney as opposed to a non-attorney CPA is the attorney-client privilege. Accountant-client privilege is quite weak, and it is not uncommon to hear stories of accountants flipping on their clients and testifying against them to get themselves out of potential trouble. On the other hand, Tax Attorneys, as well as their employees like accountants, CPAs, secretaries, or paralegals, are bound by the attorney-client privilege and cannot reveal the details of conversations relating to the legal representation of their clients without their permission. Furthermore, an attorney is permitted to bring in a consulting accountant to help on accounting-specific issues, so long as something called a Kovel letter is issued, the accountant is helping the attorney provide a legal service, and the accountant is not involved in the preparation of the tax returns at issue, they will also fall under the protection of attorney-client privilege.

Why is a Dual Licensed Tax Lawyer & CPA the Best Professional to Help Me If I Am Facing a Tax Audit?

Audits are incredibly tiresome, stressful, and invasive affairs. Our dual licensed San Jose, CA, Tax Audit Lawyers and CPAs can help you stay compliant and avoid the likelihood that the government targets you with a tax audit or criminal tax investigation. However, if you are already facing an audit or criminal tax investigation or feel that one may be imminent, it is not too late to get diligent legal tax help.

Based on recent IRS statements and actions, it is easy to tell that audits will be more common and thorough than ever before. The federal government has upped the IRS’ budget to root out non-compliance where they have failed to in previous years. Therefore, even if you think that your past tax issues are behind you, there is a distinct possibility that the IRS will uncover new information that they will look to use in an audit against you or your small business. It is in your best interests to seek dual-licensed San Jose Federal Tax Return Audit Attorneys & CPAs to represent you throughout this process, which demands a technical, in-depth familiarity with the Internal Revenue Code and various Tax Court rulings.

Audits are meant to be intimidating, especially for taxpayers unfamiliar with the process. But by enlisting the help of one of our dual licensed Tax Attorneys and CPAs, you can get qualified counsel on your side to walk you through the process and spot issues well before they create unnecessary problems in an audit.

You are entitled to have a dual licensed Tax Attorney & CPA by your side during any state or federal audit. Depending on the type of audit and the issues under criminal tax investigation, the process may take months or even years. Dual-certified CPAs and tax lawyers can handle much of the day-to-day responsibilities an auditee must undertake so that the government investigation doesn’t keep you from your other obligations.

Why is a Dual Licensed Tax Lawyer & CPA the Best Professional to Help Me If I Am Facing Criminal Tax Charges?

A criminal tax charge can have serious ramifications on a defendant. Not only do potential sentences carry heavy fines and the possibility of jail time, but the mere allegation can do serious reputational harm. If you or your small business has been selected for a tax audit in San Jose, and you are concerned about a criminal tax investigation resulting from or occurring alongside the audit, engaging our San Jose CA Criminal Tax Audit Attorneys & CPAs services at the onset of a high-risk audit / criminal tax investigation will maximize the possibility of a favorable outcome without escalating to criminal tax charges. We have never had a federal or California audit client criminally prosecuted for tax crimes.

Criminal tax charges are difficult to prove. The government must provide a litany of evidence to substantiate its claims. However, you may find yourself facing criminal charges even if the government hasn’t gathered enough evidence to obtain a guilty charge. This is one tactic that the IRS uses to secure civil convictions. They may issue an indictment for more serious offenses in an effort to get you to plead down to lower ones without making them have to go to court, an expensive and time-consuming endeavor for all sides.

Your defense starts with an understanding of the stages of an audit, criminal tax investigation, tax crime indictment, and prosecution, as well as the red flags that may pique the interest of the IRS or the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) and the Employment Development Department (EDD) and trigger the entire sequence in the form of high-risk tax eggshell and reverse eggshell tax audits . This is especially so when the taxpayer has a history of blatantly cheating on their federal tax returns and is now under audit and thus fears criminal tax prosecution. Even international tax evasion schemes that utilize remote tax havens are easily detected by the IRS, which works with tax and law enforcement agencies around the globe and throughout the United States. If you have been charged with tax evasion, or if you are concerned that an IRS audit could lead to a tax fraud investigation, it would be wise to contact our dual-licensed San Jose, CA Tax Evasion Attorneys & CPAs for immediate legal assistance.

You should never accept a plea deal without discussing it with your criminal tax defense attorney. Our San Jose dual licensed Tax Attorneys & CPAs are uniquely trained to evaluate plea deals, assess potential criminal tax charges, and present you with your best possible options. If you decide to go to trial, the Law Offices of David W. Klasing will stand by your side through the entirety of the proceeding to make sure that you are treated fairly and equitably. We are here to provide aggressive, informed representation in areas including:

Eggshell T ax Audit Defense
Reverse Eggshell Tax Audit
Fraudulent Withholding or False Statements
Criminal Tax Investigation
Handling IRS Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Inquiries
I ntentional/Fraudulent Federal Tax Evasion
Business and Employment Tax Fraud
Tax Crime Indictment and Prosecution
Representation in Cases of Alleged Tax Fraud Schemes
Tax Fraud Whistleblower Defense
Hobby Business and Taxes
Willful Failure to File Tax Returns
Increased Tax Fraud Referrals to IRS-CI
Maintaining inadequate records or destroying records
Providing implausible or inconsistent explanations during civil examination
Displaying belligerent, rude, or disrespectful behavior to an IRS agent
Claiming F ake D ependents
Arranging affairs for the sole purpose of tax avoidance in a manner that lacks economic substance
Dubious conservation easement deductions
California State Tax Fraud Schemes Defense
False Refund Claims in California
California Underground Economy Tax Evasion
CDFTA Sales and Use Tax Evasion
Failed to report a large portion of sales from a retail auto dealership
Collecting sales tax and failing to remit to the State of California
Failure to file sales tax or use tax returns (online retailers)
Misuse of resale certificate to evade tax

Fraudulent Withholding or False Statements
Criminal Tax Investigation
Handling IRS Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Inquiries
I ntentional/Fraudulent Federal Tax Evasion
Business and Employment Tax Fraud
Tax Crime Indictment and Prosecution
Representation in Cases of Alleged Tax Fraud Schemes
Tax Fraud Whistleblower Defense
Hobby Business and Taxes
Willful Failure to File Tax Returns
Increased Tax Fraud Referrals to IRS-CI
Maintaining inadequate records or destroying records
Providing implausible or inconsistent explanations during civil examination
Displaying belligerent, rude, or disrespectful behavior to an IRS agent
Claiming F ake D ependents
Arranging affairs for the sole purpose of tax avoidance in a manner that lacks economic substance
Dubious conservation easement deductions
California State Tax Fraud Schemes Defense
False Refund Claims in California
California Underground Economy Tax Evasion
CDFTA Sales and Use Tax Evasion
Failed to report a large portion of sales from a retail auto dealership
Collecting sales tax and failing to remit to the State of California
Failure to file sales tax or use tax returns (online retailers)
Misuse of resale certificate to evade tax
Tax Preparer Liability
IRS Renewed Focus on Criminal Tax Defense
Overstating deductions or claiming false deductions
Hiding or transferring income with relatives or related entities
Keeping false records of your income or “second set of books”
Falsifying books or records “forgery”
Prematurely destroying records
California FTB Income Tax Fraud Investigations
EDD Employment Tax Fraud Investigations
CDTFA Tax Fraud Investigations:
- Cannabis Tax Evasion (Illegal Cannabis Retailers)
- Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Evasion

Motor Vehicle, Diesel and Jet Fuel Tax Evasion
Intentional destruction of records
Registration of a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft outside of California for the purpose of evading tax

Get Back into Tax Compliance without Facing Criminal Tax Prosecution in San Jose with our dual licensed Tax Compliance Attorney and CPAs

If you’re in San Jose and realize that you could face criminal tax prosecution over a history of blatantly cheating on your tax returns if discovered, voluntarily disclosing this history by knocking on the IRS’s door before they bang down your door is the most crucial step towards resolution without facing criminal tax prosecution.

Our San Jose, CA Voluntary Disclosure Attorneys & CPAs navigate the complexities of various federal and California state voluntary disclosures, including domestic, offshore, CDTFA (BOE), and FTB voluntary disclosures, streamlined procedures, and delinquent FBAR and international information return submission procedures. If you have financial accounts abroad, make sure you are reporting the offshore assets, investments, trusts and businesses correctly – and avoid costly tax penalties and potential criminal tax and foreign information reporting exposure – by working with our San Jose, CA, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Attorneys & CPAs . As long as a taxpayer who has willfully committed tax avoidance (potentially including non-filed foreign information returns coupled with affirmative evasion of U.S. income tax on offshore income) self-reports the federal or California state tax non-compliance through a domestic or offshore voluntary disclosure before the IRS or the California state agency has started an audit or criminal tax investigation/prosecution, the taxpayer can ordinarily be successfully brought back into tax compliance and receive a nearly guaranteed pass on criminal tax prosecution and simultaneously often receive a break on the civil penalties that would otherwise apply. We deal with:

Hiring a dual Licensed Tax Lawyer and CPA Gives You the Benefits of Both Perspectives

Usually, if you must choose between a CPA and a Tax Attorney, the Tax Attorney is the safer bet. However, there is no need to compromise when you can have the best of both worlds by hiring one of the dual-licensed Tax Lawyers and CPAs at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing. Our tax professionals are fully licensed Tax Attorneys and fully licensed CPAs and can advise you on issues related to accounting, tax law, or a mixture of both. We can help prepare your taxes if you have yet to file and can work to mitigate any civil damages or criminal tax exposure with the IRS or California State taxing authorities if you have previously filed false or misleading returns or are facing a high-risk audit or criminal tax investigation.

San Jose Business and Employment Tax Attorneys

Providing a useful product or service is only half of running a successful business. In addition, business owners must also be mindful of California state and federal business and employment tax provisions, which can impact their bottom lines. However, when you are busy operating a company, you simply don’t have time to analyze the potential tax ramifications of every business decision.

Our San Jose business and employment tax lawyers can help you make advantageous choices for your business while simultaneously protecting you from inadvertently violating Federal and California state tax laws. No matter which stage of its life cycle your business has reached – from entity selection and formation, business sales or acquisitions, through dissolution and liquidation – our Tax Lawyers and CPAs can give you the tools to make informed, pragmatic decisions about how to handle the company’s finances on tax-advantaged short-term or long-term basis.

We work with C corporations, S corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), general partnerships (GPs), limited partnerships (LPs), limited liability partnerships (LLPs), and limited liability limited partnerships (LLPs) that are registered to conduct business in the State of California and beyond. Whether you are looking to expand, pass down, merge, sell, or start a company, our dual-licensed Domestic and International Business and Tax Attorneys & CPAs in San Jose, CA, can provide a range of tax and financial services, including:

International Tax Lawyers in San Jose, CA

For those involved in international business or the management of foreign assets, mastering the intricate world of global taxation is vital for prosperity. At the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, our dual-licensed team of Domestic and International Business Tax Attorneys in San Jose, CA, stands ready to safeguard your interests. Regardless of whether you physically reside in California, another state, or a foreign country, you are generally required to report your foreign income, including foreign bank accounts and cryptocurrency stored in foreign wallets, to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Depending on how much income you stored or earned overseas, you may be required to file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR or FinCEN Form 114), file Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), and/or file additional forms detailing your offshore account(s).

Failure to comply with these requirements, which are established by laws like the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), can result in the imposition of civil and/or criminal tax penalties, including fines and potential incarceration.

If you think you may need to file an FBAR this tax season – or if you have questions about how best to approach reporting undisclosed foreign accounts – the San Jose FinCEN Form 114 FBAR Attorneys+ CPAs at the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing can help. Our award-winning team, with a long track record in international tax representation, ensures compliance, safeguards your legal rights, and strategizes to minimize IRS tax civil and criminal tax and foreign information reporting penalties. Contact our San Jose office at (800) 681-1295 or (408) 643-0573 or contact us here online for assistance on the following:

If you have concealed foreign income or assets, it may be possible to mitigate civil and criminal tax and foreign information reporting penalties by making a voluntary disclosure. However, the IRS is ending one of its largest disclosure programs, the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), in September of 2018. While other avenues remain open to taxpayers, it is of vital importance to report foreign income as soon as possible in order to hold penalties to a minimum.

Our association with Marc Schwartz, a dually licensed International Tax Attorney and CPA, greatly enhances our ability to address the often complex federal offshore tax planning, compliance, and controversial implications surrounding engaging in international business and the associated mandatory information reporting. Our San Jose International Tax Attorneys, FBAR Lawyers, Bitcoin Tax Attorneys, and Offshore Lawyers in San Jose offer:

International Estate Planning
Tax Services for Expats
International Tax Liability Minimization
Business Succession Planning
International Tax Treaty Application
U.S. Entity Formation for Non-Resident Aliens
Transfer Pricing Compliance and Penalties Avoidance
Double Taxation Avoidance

San Jose, CA Audit Appeals and Tax Litigation Representation

It is a costly mistake to assume that the outcome of an audit is guaranteed to be accurate or even remotely appropriate. On the contrary, in our experience, there are common instances in which the IRS, FTB, CDTFA (BOE), or EDD will attempt to overstep its authority and attempt to secure a substantially excessive tax assessment. Frankly, the taxing authorities get the facts and the law wrong quite often.

Fortunately, these agencies provide opportunities for taxpayers, most effectively through qualified counsel, to dispute or protest audit outcomes based on differing interpretations of the law or factual evidence. However, the process for appealing an audit can be convoluted and confusing unless you are already familiar with the particular tax agency’s rules and procedures. With a reputation for providing aggressive Audit Appeals Representation, and where necessary, Tax Litigation, our San Jose, CA Audit Appeals, and Litigation Attorneys & CPAs are prepared to guide, assist, and protect you throughout all stages of a Federal and California Tax Appeal or where absolutely necessary, Tax litigation. To date, we have never lost in tax court. We won’t take your case if we don’t believe we’ll win. The IRS’s 98% settlement rate is why we’ve never stepped foot in tax court, sparing our clients the most expensive part of tax litigation.

We specialize in navigating both IRS and California state tax disputes, adeptly managing sensitive audits (where you cheated on the tax returns under audit) to ensure a civil resolution and avoid criminal tax prosecution. This incorporates representing clients in disputes involving IRS audits, disputes with the CDTFA (BOE) and FTB, claims for refund, tax collection defense, innocent spouse relief, criminal tax defense, and more. Whether it’s handling cases of criminal tax exposure, guiding you through a civil tax audit, eggshell audit, reverse eggshell audit, or defending against a criminal tax investigation, the expertise of our seasoned dual-licensed San Jose Tax Litigation Attorneys and CPAs is invaluable. As an experienced litigator, David W. Klasing Esq. M.S.-Tax CPA can represent you in the Federal or California Tax Court. Our services include representing clients in the following scenarios:

FTB and IRS Tax Audit Lawyers in San Jose, CA

There are numerous reasons the IRS, FTB, CDTFA, or EDD can initiate a desk audit, field audit, or eggshell audit of a business or individual taxpayer. While some taxpayers are arbitrarily chosen for a tax audit based on computer software or are singled out due to “risk factors” like operating a cash-intensive business, most audits begin with an accounting error or suspected crime on the taxpayer’s part – and most audits end with the assessment of additional tax, penalties, and interest or even occasionally in a recommendation that the taxpayer be criminally investigated and potentially prosecuted.

Due to these risks, it is crucial to be represented by an FTB Tax Audit Lawyer, CDTFA / BOE Sales Tax Audit Lawyer, EDD Employment Tax Audit Lawyer, or IRS Tax Audit Attorney who wields a deep understanding of civil and criminal audit/investigation procedures, auditor/investigator, negotiation/representation tactics, and the full spectrum of options for resolving a Tax Controversy with the absolute minimal financial damage/prosecution exposure to the taxpayer. If you or your business has been chosen for an audit or criminal tax investigation in San Jose, our dual-licensed San Jose, CA, California FTB, EDD and CDTFA Tax Audit Attorneys + CPAs are ready to fight in your corner.

IRS Audits Representation

An IRS audit occurs when the federal government statistically believes you have misstated your personal or business tax returns based on comparisons to similarly situated returns. Most of the time, an IRS audit will look at your books and records going back three years, but it can extend to six years or even back to the dawn of time in extreme cases.

Types of IRS Audits

There are three major types of audits that the IRS conducts: correspondence audits, office audits, and field audits.

Correspondance Audits

Correspondence audits are ordinarily conducted entirely through correspondence rather than any in-person meetings or visits. These audits can often be resolved by providing the IRS with documents and records showing that your tax filing is accurate. However, if you do not have the necessary records and knowingly fudged the numbers under audit, it would be wise to seek the help of our dual licensed San Jose, CA Tax Evasion Attorneys & CPAs. We can help you reconstruct the necessary records and mitigate any civil damages or criminal exposure for errors you made on the returns under audit.

Office Audit

In an office audit, you are asked to physically come into the IRS office with your financial documents, records, and other requested information. The auditor will interview you, then look through these documents in real time and ask you any questions about potential discrepancies. It is important to have a tax lawyer representing you at an office audit and in organizing your documents ahead of time.

Field Audit

A field audit occurs when the IRS comes to your office or home to look through the documents. This is the most serious type of audit and is usually only conducted when the IRS suspects you of substantial wrongdoing. It ordinarily involves the greatest possibility of additional tax, penalties, and interest being assessed and, in extreme circumstances, can lead to criminal tax exposure.

California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) Audit Representation

The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) conducts audits related to personal and business income tax filings in the State of California. These “audits” can follow on the heels of an IRS audit, can be conducted completely independent of any IRS enforcement action, and can often involve California differences from federal tax law that may have been ignored or applied incorrectly. Often, the best way to fight a guaranteed bill from the FTB following an IRS audit is by prevailing in any IRS audit in the first place. Our attorneys may be able to get the federal audit reopened through a process called audit reconsideration. A federal or State audit can also be appealed or litigated.

Sometimes, the FTB conducts its own audits related to issues specific to California law. In this case, a tax lawyer can help you understand the differences between federal and California tax laws and the various methods of supporting your California tax position. They can also appeal and or litigate any California assessments of additional tax penalties and interest you believe are unfair. Sometimes, due to the difference between federal and California state laws, you may end up owing back taxes to the FTB even if an IRS audit finds you did not owe anything to the federal government. If you do indeed owe back taxes, our lawyers can negotiate to work out a reasonable payment plan or other collection alternative and help you minimize or avoid penalties and interest. It is never prudent to ignore an FTB notice, even if you disagree with its findings or are unsure precisely what the notice is in reference to. Contrary to being forgotten, interest on any unpaid tax debts will simply continue accruing until your debt is satisfied. Click on the following to learn more:

California Employment Development Department (EDD) Audit Representation

Payroll taxes and worker classification issues are the main areas of concern of the California Employment Development Department (EDD). Each employer is required to withhold payroll taxes and federal state income taxes out of their employees’ paychecks, hold that money in trust, and remit it to the correct agencies. Audits by the EDD may occur if you fail to collect payroll taxes or if you fail to remit them to the proper authorities. They are also quite common if a worker you were paying as an independent contractor on 1099 makes an unemployment claim and represents that they should have been paid as an employee.

Most issues related to payroll taxes have to do with the difference between an employee and an independent contractor. You are required to collect payroll taxes for your employees but not for independent contractors working for you. The EDD may believe that you are improperly classifying those who should be considered employees as independent contractors and that you owe substantially more in payroll taxes, draconian penalties, and interest. There are many complex factors relating to who is and is not qualified as an employee, and the expertise of an experienced tax lawyer will be helpful in assessing such a situation and fighting against improper classifications by the EDD.

Whether your California or federal employment tax matter involves fringe benefits, unemployment taxes, worker classification audits, EDD audits, payroll accounting methods, the Additional Medicare Tax, trust fund recovery penalties, accuracy-related penalties, seasonal workers, tax evasion charges, or related issues, our dual-licensed San Jose EDD Tax Audit Attorneys & CPAs possess the knowledge and experience to help find a resolution. Issues that can increase the odds of facing an employment tax audit or exacerbate the consequences of such an audit include:

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) Audit Representation

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) oversees sales and certain excise taxes. If you are being audited by this organization, they are checking to see if you have been properly charging sales taxes at the applicable rates and properly remitting the taxes to the State. Some industries, such as bars, liquor stores, and restaurants, are targeted for these audits more than others, but these audits can happen to any business. If you run a cash-intensive business and have been underreporting sales for both income and California sales tax purposes, these audits can become your worst nightmare.

The CDTFA will ask for books, records, documents, point of sale data, income tax returns, and other items related to your total sales and purchases to assess whether the proper amount of California sales tax has been charged and paid to the State. A tax lawyer can help you collect, organize, and, where necessary, reconstruct these records for the CDTFA. If the CDTFA finds that you owe sales taxes, penalties, and interest, you can fight this decision, but you will only have a 30-day window to file a protest once you have received notice of the pending assessment. It is important to retain a tax lawyer who can get all your supporting documents in order and file a timely protest, or you may end up owing the full amount at issue, even if you believe it is incorrect.

Recently, the CDTFA issued updated guidance on protocols and procedures for disputing, or “appealing,” CDTFA determinations. Though the CDTFA makes efforts to provide clear instructions for taxpayers, it is not recommended to attempt handling an appeal without professional tax representation. It is in your best interests to consult our experienced dual-licensed CDTFA Audit Attorneys & CPAs before filing an appeal or petition for redetermination due to the legal and financial complexity involved. We can help you appeal IRS and California state tax audit decisions involving:

Criminal Tax Defense Lawyer in San Jose

Though tax crimes are nonviolent in nature, offenders are nonetheless subject to some of the nation’s harshest criminal penalties. Many tax offenses are felonies prosecuted in federal court, which typically hand down longer sentences and greater fines than courts that function at the state level. To provide an example, the federal statute for tax evasion establishes a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, in addition to fines as great as $100,000 for individuals. Moreover, criminal fines can be compounded by IRS restitution orders, which can cost thousands or even millions of dollars depending on the nature and severity of the offense. Finally, a tax-related conviction could saddle you with a permanent felony record, which may make it difficult or impossible to find employment, obtain loans, rent at certain properties, purchase or own a firearm, travel abroad, or take advantage of life’s other opportunities.

The criminal tax defense attorneys at the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing represent defendants charged with misdemeanor and felony tax crimes, including CPAs and tax preparers. Our tax evasion attorneys can protect your rights, prepare you for court hearings, manage your legal documentation, and fight to reduce your penalties if you have been charged with tax evasion, offshore tax evasion, willful failure to file a tax return, payroll tax fraud, making false statements, or other tax crimes.

San Jose Tax Defense Attorneys for Tax Evasion and Failure to File

Tax evasion occurs when a business or individual uses deceit to evade paying the taxes rightfully owed to State and/or Federal governments / taxing authorities. Common examples of actions that constitute tax evasion include omitting or underreporting income, exaggerating business expenses, failure to file a tax return (whether personal/business or state/federal), and claiming credits or deductions for which the taxpayer is not legally entitled.

Whether willful or accidental, these actions are certain to draw the attention of the IRS and/or California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), California Departments of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA, formerly known as the BOE), or the Employment Development Department (EDD) which routinely collaborates with the IRS. Depending on whether the taxpayer’s error is determined to be deliberate, the taxpayer can face misdemeanor or even felony tax charges. If the indictment leads to a criminal tax conviction, the taxpayer could be imprisoned and ordered to pay penalties and restitution for all acts of evasion back to the dawn of time.

If you’re confronting the civil and potential criminal tax repercussions of unfiled tax returns or navigating foreign account disclosures, the expertise of our dual-licensed San Jose, CA Tax Non-Filer Assistance Attorneys & CPAs ensures compliance and the protection/mitigation of potential civil or criminal tax consequences including:

Struggling with Cryptocurrency Taxation in San Jose?

In the rapidly evolving world of virtual currencies like Bitcoin and other digital assets, many investors and traders are navigating complex Federal and California state tax implications. Receiving a letter from the IRS about unreported cryptocurrency transactions discovered via John Doe Summons can be alarming. It may lead to a cryptocurrency-based, high-risk eggshell audit or even a covert criminal tax investigation if not addressed appropriately. The surprise is often considerable when individuals learn that exchanges of one type of crypto for another are taxable events in the year they occur, even with no fiat currency changing hands, or that the IRS might have obtained their transaction details from sources like Coinbase. The volatile nature of the crypto market, with its significant highs in 2017 followed by subsequent lows, has left many facing substantial tax liabilities, often disproportionate to their current portfolio value.

At the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, our San Jose Bitcoin and Virtual Currency Tax Attorneys, and CPAs offer the combined expertise of Tax Lawyers and CPAs, specializing in the tax ramifications and reporting of virtual currency transactions. Whether it’s organizing and reconstructing transaction records where necessary, advising on reporting virtual currency on tax returns (especially where the returns are being amended or are delinquent and therefore the audit risk is heightened), or navigating cryptocurrency-based high-risk eggshell audits and criminal tax investigations, our team is equipped to handle all aspects of cryptocurrency taxation. Our goal is to ensure compliance with the ever-changing tax regulations and to mitigate tax reporting risks associated with cryptocurrency transactions for taxpayers and investors in San Jose. Contact the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing in San Jose at (800) 681-1295 to schedule an initial reduced-rate consultation and explore how we can support your cryptocurrency tax needs. Read our story “Tax Fraud is Going Virtual” to know more about virtual tax evasion. For more information, see the following:

Dual Licensed San Jose Sales Tax Attorneys and CPAs?

In San Jose, businesses that collect sales tax from their customers are entrusted with remitting those taxes back to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) (formerly known as the State Board of Equalization (BOE)). Any discrepancies, such as failing to remit collected taxes or transactions that are not appropriately taxed, can trigger California sales tax audits by the CDTFA. Given the significance of sales tax, which accounts for a large portion of California’s revenue, California state tax audits are common, especially for businesses in certain high-risk sectors. If you find your business selected for a sales tax audit, it would be wise to remain composed and promptly contact our dual-licensed San Jose, CA, California Sales Tax Audit Attorneys + CPAs.

We combine decades of experience assisting corporations, LLCs, partnerships, and sole proprietors throughout California, in addition to foreign and multinational entities, to get through California, solely civil or potentially criminal, sales tax audits. Depending on your needs and priorities, our San Jose, CA Corporate Compliance Attorneys + CPAs provide services that include correcting past sales tax compliance errors, providing sales tax audit and appeals representation, fighting criminal tax charges related to perceived or actual sales tax fraud, counseling you on tax planning strategies, or assisting you with the unique sales tax issues that affect online and international businesses.

With recent overhauls in California sales tax laws, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Wayfair granting states more power to enforce compliance over online sellers, it would be wise to have our dual-licensed San Jose CA Internet Sales Tax Attorneys + CPAs by your side. From internet sales tax audit representation to small business tax planning and bookkeeping services, we possess the experience to answer your business tax questions and help you achieve your goals. Click on the following to learn more:

In Need of Tax & Estate Planning in San Jose?

Our dual-licensed San Jose Estate & Income Tax Planning Attorneys and CPAs represent estate planning clients throughout the globe with convenient offices in San Jose, San Francisco, and the surrounding California counties. Our custom estate planning representation ensures that your final wishes are honored and helps you provide for your loved ones in your absence. Combining our financial planning, legal, tax, and accounting skills and knowledge, we are committed to helping you preserve your wealth for future generations. Estate planning is a necessary process that a knowledgeable lawyer can compassionately and effectively handle. Our services include creating tax-efficient estate plans that reflect your goals, assisting with preparing and filing estate tax returns, and offering expert advice on gift tax implications.

Estate planning involves multiple components, which need to be customized depending on the unique set of facts and circumstances underlying your financial situation, such as the size of your estate, the number of heirs involved, and the complexity and location of your domestic and international assets, including whether foreign or offshore bank accounts are involved. Our skilled California Estate & Income Tax Planning attorneys and supporting staff of CPAs and CPA candidates have decades of experience assisting clients with wills, trusts, advanced healthcare directives, and other estate planning and administration matters. Our Estate Planning services include:

San Jose Tax Lawyers and CPAs Can Help

The U.S. Tax Code creates innumerable opportunities for strategic tax-focused financial planning – and, on the other hand, innumerable opportunities to accidentally break the law and incur additional tax, penalties, and interest. In addition, California enforces some of the nation’s strictest and most burdensome tax laws at the state level.

Having professional tax guidance from a knowledgeable and experienced taxpayer advocate, like the San Jose Tax Attorneys at the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing, ensures that your legal rights will be protected, that your best financial interests will be prioritized and that any penalties or fines you may be facing will be thoroughly reviewed and, if appropriate, aggressively challenged. Whether our Tax Lawyers in San Jose are preparing a tax return, negotiating an IRS installment agreement, litigating a Tax Court Deficiency Action, protesting the results of a state or federal tax audit, or defending a client against felony tax charges investigations or in court, our mission is to give each client the strongest possible platform for achieving a favorable outcome.

To discuss your tax issues confidentially via a reduced-rate initial phone or online encrypted and secure Go-To-Meeting video/audio consultation, contact the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing online or call (408) 643-0573 / (800) 681-1295. Our appointment-only San Jose Office is conveniently located at the following address:

2033 Gateway Place
5th Floor, Suite 500
San Jose, CA 95110

San Jose Practice Areas

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San Jose Tax Attorney