Living as a professional artist demands intense focus and effort, leaving you little time or energy to study complex tax regulations. All the same, you must comply with state and federal tax requirements, which may include income, sales, payroll, and employment or self-employment taxes, depending on your situation. Total adherence to the law is essential, because noncompliance may result in a tax audit – a procedure likely to conclude with costly tax assessments along with fines and penalties. Worse yet, you may even be in danger of criminal tax prosecution, which is a significant risk where indicators exist that the taxpayer acted willfully to avoid tax filings or understate tax due or where avoiding making payment. In some instances, a taxpayer under audit is simultaneously under criminal investigation – without necessarily being notified of that fact.See our Audit Representation Q and A Library If you are an artist in California or an artist who receives California-source income, it is in your best interests to consult an experienced combo California tax attorney & CPA if you have failed to pay taxes, have unfiled tax returns, have filed delinquent returns, have made late tax payments, have forgotten to file taxes, have failed to report income or accounts, or have submitted tax returns containing errors or missing items. With strategic, proactive legal representation that is focused on minimizing your criminal tax exposure, it may be possible to prevent prosecution while reducing fines, tax assessments and mitigating other IRS penalties. Let the California tax lawyers & CPAs at the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing provide regulatory guidance and legal representation, so that you can spend more time producing art and less time worrying about the IRS.See our Non-Filer Q and A Library
California + IRS Tax Audit Attorneys & CPAs for Artists
Serving individuals and business entities statewide, our California tax law firm provides audit representation for visual and media artists of all types, including digital artists, painters, animators, sculptors, wedding photographers, fashion photographers, fashion designers, set and costume designers, graphic designers, video game designers, and related professions. Types of artist tax audits we handle include:
- California state tax audits
- EDD audits (Employment Development Department), such as California employment tax audits
- CDTFA audits (California Department of Tax and Fee Administration), such as California sales tax audits
- FTB tax audits (Franchise Tax Board), such as California income tax audits
See our Sales Tax Q and A librarySee our Employment Tax Law Q and A Library
- Civil IRS tax audits
- Cash-based business audits
- Foreign account tax audits
- U.S. employment tax audits
- U.S. income tax audits (personal, corporate)
- Criminal tax audits
In addition to providing state, federal, civil, and criminal audit representation, we also represent taxpayers in California and IRS tax appeals, empowering artists to dispute audit results more effectively. To contest, or appeal, the outcome of an audit successfully, you must compile detailed factual evidence to support your argument against the IRS’ findings. For example, your argument must be based around established case law, legal statutes, or IRS protocols (as opposed to a constitutional or other “frivolous” tax argument).
Can a Civil Tax Audit Become an IRS Criminal Investigation?
A civil tax audit can give rise to criminal charges in situations where taxpayers have engaged in “willful” (deliberate) conduct to avoid their full tax liabilities. During an audit, the IRS looks for indicators, or “badges,” of fraud to help determine whether a taxpayer has acted willfully. If such badges are discovered during an audit – for example, omitted sources of income, or discrepancies between sets of books – the auditor may halt the examination and refer the case to the IRS Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI). Depending on its findings, IRS-CI may recommend prosecution to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Tax Division.See our Criminal Tax Law Q and A Library Led by IRS tax attorney and former public accounting auditor David W. Klasing, our award-winning tax firm brings a unique tactical perspective to civil and criminal tax audit proceedings. While we work tirelessly to limit criminal tax exposure, we are poised to leap into action defending you if criminal charges are filed but specialize in preventing the imposition of criminal tax penalties in the first place. We have successfully represented defendants who were at risk of being charged with extremely serious felony tax charges, including felony income tax evasion, payroll tax evasion, and tax crimes involving false and fraudulent returns.
California Tax Lawyers + CPAs for Artists
There are numerous state and federal tax issues artists need to consider carefully, both in the short-term and long-term. For example, are you required to collect sales tax on commissioned art in California? Are there sales tax exemptions for digital art or photography? Is artwork considered depreciable property? What tax deductions are available to artists? How are artists living abroad taxed? And when, if ever, are artist grants taxable?
When left unanswered, these sorts of questions can translate to missed business opportunities for a gallery, studio, or artist can lead to an audit, or exponentially worse, a Federal or California criminal tax investigation. Get the answers, clarity, and protection you need by working with an experienced tax audit defense lawyer in California. When you need reliable tax guidance for artists, look to the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing for practical, strategy-driven counsel and advice.
With offices located across Northern and Southern California, we offer rapid, convenient service to taxpayers throughout the state. Contact us online right away to arrange a reduced-rate tax consultation or call our main office in Irvine at (800) 681-1925 to discuss your tax issue confidentially. If you are an artist with tax questions, we are here to be your comprehensive resource.
Note: If you have concerns about the privacy of our initial or subsequent communication and are unable to easily travel to our Irvine / Orange County Main Office, consider scheduling a GoToMeeting to safely and securely establish an initial or maintain an existing attorney client relationship. With end-to-end encryption, strong passwords and top-rated reliability, no one is messing with your meeting. To schedule a reduced rate initial consultation via GoToMeeting follow this link. Call our office and request a GoToMeeting if you are an existing client. We are generally happy to travel to any of our appointment only satellite offices for a subsequent meeting in appropriate circumstances once a relationship is established via a signed engagement letter and the payment of an initial retainer or where enough retainer is available where a current client to cover the reasonable travel time and time required for the meeting.
Will it cost me more to hire the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, who’s main office and the vast majority of the firm’s staff is located in Irvine California, but an appointment only Satellite office is close to my location, as opposed to a local company? Absolutely not! See our policies that address this issue here