Carlsbad Tax Attorney and CPA
Many businesses and individuals in Carlsbad work in non-traditional areas of the economy, some of which serve clients around the state, country and world. The diverse sources of income available for these businesses often lead to unusual tax situations that are best addressed with the assistance of Carlsbad tax services.
If, after filing your taxes, you are audited by the IRS or a state tax authority, you may find yourself in need of civil or criminal tax defense.
Don’t lose sleep over your tax problems. Whether you are an investor, business owner, S corporation, C corporation, partnership, LLC, sole proprietorship, non-profit organization or other entity in or around Carlsbad, finding skilled tax attorneys, CPAs, and EAs in Southern California to help manage your tax situation is essential.
When you need help with any Carlsbad tax services, contact the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing today to schedule a 10-minute reduced rate initial consultation with an experienced Combo Tax Attorney & CPA. We have licensed Tax Attorneys, CPAs, and EAs on staff and are ready to provide financial and legal guidance for any business or individual needs. Let us alleviate your troubles with California or Federal tax authorities.
The Best Tax Attorney in Carlsbad
The Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing is a full-service boutique tax law firm comprised of tax attorneys and CPAs, many of which have Master’s Degrees in Taxation or LLM’s in Tax, who combine decades of experience in all areas of tax law, ranging from international and business tax to criminal tax defense and high dollar civil and high risk egg shell audit representation. With offices conveniently located to serve residents of Carlsbad and the surrounding communities, such as Oceanside, Vista, and Encinitas, our California tax firm has established a sterling reputation for providing trustworthy, efficient, and results-oriented tax guidance for investors, business owners, S corporations, C corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), sole proprietorships, non-profit organizations, and other entities or individuals facing complex tax questions and controversies. For a reduced-rate initial consultation tax services in Carlsbad, contact our law offices online, or call the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing at (760) 338-7035 or (800) 681-1295 to schedule an appointment.
International Tax Services in Carlsbad
If you have investments, assets, offshore business accounts, retirement accounts, checking accounts, or other financial accounts held with financial institutions overseas, you may be subject to U.S. laws requiring you to provide appropriate international information reporting and pay U.S. taxes on global income. Failure to comply with these requirements will subject you to civil and potentially criminal tax and foreign information reporting penalties, depending on whether the noncompliance is gauged to be “willful” or merely negligent, by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Even if you are already in compliance with the law, you may be sustaining needless financial losses due to double-taxation. Fortunately, this is a common tax issue which can be corrected or ameliorated through thoughtful and meticulous international tax planning.
Whether you are concerned about an unmet requirement to report foreign income, or have questions about how to minimize the impacts of double-taxation, it is in your best interests to discuss the issue with an international tax attorney as soon as possible – ideally before receiving any notices from the IRS. If you wait to act until after you have already been contacted by the IRS, you will have fewer (and less favorable) options for resolving the problem. However, no matter how complex or difficult the situation, rely on our international tax lawyers for skillful, financially sound guidance. For issue-specific assistance, you may wish to contact our:
Carlsbad Criminal Tax Defense Attorneys
The IRS routinely works with state agencies, such as the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), as well as other federal agencies, such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to investigate taxpayers who are suspected of misdemeanor or felony tax crimes. These investigations occasionally arise from tax audits of taxpayers, but can also be triggered for reasons ranging from failure to file to selection by fraud detection units.
Our criminal tax defense attorneys and tax evasion lawyers are qualified to handle criminal tax proceedings in state and federal court in California. In addition to cases involving willful failure to file a tax return, we also handle tax charges including but not limited to:
- 26 U.S. Code § 7202 – Willful failure to collect or pay over tax
- 26 U.S. Code § 7206 - Fraud and false statements
- 26 U.S. Code § 7212 - Attempts to interfere with administration of Internal Revenue laws
- 18 U.S. Code § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States
We are very adept at diffusing the potential criminal tax exposure that often comes to the surface in a highly contested divorce or where a business is sold.
Carlsbad Employment, Payroll, and Business Tax Services
Employers, business owners, stakeholders, board members, and others have special tax obligations under state and federal tax laws. For example, employers in Carlsbad are generally required to withhold and remit payroll taxes, namely Social Security and Medicare taxes, or be subject to, at best, trust fund recovery penalties and potentially, at worst, criminal tax prosecution where employment taxes are found by the IRS or FTB / EDD to have been willfully evaded.
In addition to the myriad (and often confusing) tax requirements to which business owners and business entities are subject, entrepreneurs must also consider the tax ramifications of each and every business decision throughout the life of the entity, beginning with strategic entity selection before the company is even launched. At the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing, we possess the cutting-edge, up-to-date tax knowledge you need to make the most of every opportunity, including updates to the Tax Code under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted December 2017. For assistance with all your business and employment tax issues, speak with our:
- Business Succession Planning Lawyers
- Business Tax Lawyers
- Business Transaction Lawyers
- Employment Tax Lawyers
Carlsbad IRS, FTB, CDTFA (BOE) and EDD Tax Audit Representation
“Tax audit” may be one of the most dreaded phrases in the English language. However, with a skilled and aggressive California and IRS tax audit attorney negotiating and advocating on your behalf, there is no need to approach the process from a position of fear or anxiety. Not only have we helped thousands of taxpayers emerge from examination with considerably reduced penalties, interest, or other tax liabilities – in addition, our IRS audit and appeals lawyers have also represented countless taxpayers in all stages of the appellate or “protest” process, which is the process of challenging an audit outcome with which you disagree. We stand ready willing and able to litigate any tax issue where the law and facts are squarely on your side, but we have a track record of advantageously settling all our extensive Tax Litigation to date, prior to our clients having to incur the astronomical costs of a trial.
The IRS routinely conducts audits on individual, business, trust, estate and offshore federal information and tax returns. Many IRS audits are conducted at random, but the vast majority are conducted because a computerized statistical review of your tax returns triggered an audit. Issues that may trigger an audit include suspicion of underpaid taxes, suspicion of underreporting of assets and income, and suspicion that you are claiming excess exemptions, credits or deductions for which you do not actually qualify. While a typical IRS audit can look back over 3 years of your tax returns and related documents, sometimes the IRS will be permitted to look back 6 years or even back to the dawn of time.
Types of IRS Audits
Correspondance Audits
There are three types of IRS audits: correspondence audits, office audits, and field audits. Correspondence audits occur remotely. You will receive a letter from the IRS asking you to provide information such as financial records and documents to substantiate the positions taken on your tax returns and you will send this information for the agents to review and make a determination. A Tax Lawyer can help you organize or even reconstruct your records and can work to correct any mistakes made on the original returns in a manner that keeps the audit about money and not about potential jail time.
An office audit is like a correspondence audit, except the letter you receive will ask you to bring the requested documents and records into an IRS office for review. You will also be interviewed if you do not hire a representative. You should consult with a Tax Attorney who can help you prepare and accompany you to this meeting, or better yet, appear on your behalf, where they will be able to use their experience to negotiate on your behalf. A field audit is the by far the most serious type of audit and is often reserved for cases where serious civil and even potential criminal tax charges are possibly being considered. In a field audit, the agents will come to your home or place of work to review your records in person. They will often attempt to reconcile your perceived standard of living back against your return filing pattern. You should contact a Tax Lawyer as soon as you learn of the possibility of a field audit occurring.
California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) Audit Representation
The California Franchise Tax Board conducts audits related to state income tax filings. Most of these “audits” are independent audits. In addition, the FTB receives the results of any federal audit of your tax returns and uses that information to assess whether you owe back taxes to the state. Due to the differences between state and federal tax laws, it is often the case that you might owe money to the state even if the IRS found in their audit that you do not owe any back taxes to the federal government.
There are a multitude of state-specific issues that can result in an independent audit by the FTB. FTB audits can result in serious fines and penalties and should not be taken any less seriously than an audit by the IRS. A Tax Attorney can help you reconstruct the necessary records, fight any findings that you believe are incorrect, and work out a payment plan with the FTB for any money that you do owe.
California Employment Development Department (EDD) Audit Representation
While the IRS also engages in audits related to federal payroll taxes, audits related to California state payroll taxes are conducted by the California Development Department (EDD). Employers are required to withhold California payroll taxes out of each employee’s check, along with federal payroll taxes, and to hold them in trust until remitting them to the proper agencies. If you fail to take out payroll taxes or take them out of employees’ checks and fail to remit them to California, you could face serious civil penalties and even risk federal or California criminal tax prosecution.
The most common issue investigated during an EDD audit is whether you are properly classifying your workers as employees vs. independent contractors. While you are required to take state payroll taxes out for employees, you are not required to do so for independent contractors. However, there are tight restrictions around who can be classified as an independent contractor to prevent fraud. An experienced Tax Attorney can help you properly classify those who work for you and can work to mitigate any potential damage from misclassifying workers in the past.
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) Audit Representation
Audits related to withholding and remittance of California sales taxes are conducted by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). Underpaying of sales taxes is quite common, especially because how much sales tax you are required to charge can be confusing. It often varies depending on what kind of product you are selling, and especially for online purchases, where the buyer lives. The CDTFA is known to conduct random field audits of certain cash-based businesses like, bars, restaurants, and liquor stores, where cash based sales and consequently sales taxes are often underreported or undercharged.
These audits may require a lot of effort on your part and can encompasses an audit of most of your business records, including potentially producing records of all your sales and purchases, bank statements, federal and state income tax returns, point of sale records, etc. It is vital that you retain a skilled Tax Attorney to help you organize and if necessary reconstruct these records and work to mitigate the damage from any records that are missing or do not line up with what you reported to the state. There are also specific deadlines that must be followed if challenging a finding by the CDTFA and a Tax Lawyer will be able to keep on top of these for you.
Our versatile IRS, CDTFA (BOE) EDD and FTB tax audit lawyers are prepared to handle a wide range of state, federal, and issue-specific tax audits, including but not limited to:
Carlsbad, CA Tax Lawyers Offering Reduced-Rate Consultations
Whether you need to defend yourself against criminal tax charges in federal court, have questions about choosing the most tax-efficient and liability shielding business structure for your new startup, are concerned about your next steps regarding an undisclosed foreign bank account, need advice on investing in a business or opportunity zone, require guidance on passing an inheritance down to your children, or need legal or financial guidance on other local, state, federal, or international tax matters, including cryptocurrency tax issues, the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing is fully equipped to resolve the issue with courtesy, efficiency, and the careful attention to detail that your matter demands and deserves.
To discuss your tax needs confidentially in a reduced-rate initial consultation with our award-winning Carlsbad tax lawyers and CPAs, contact us online, or call (760) 338-7035 or (800) 681-1295 for prompt assistance. Our Appointment Only Carlsbad office is located at the following address:
701 Palomar Airport Road
Suite 300
Carlsbad, California, 92011
Carlsbad Tax Law Offices
For any of your tax planning compliance and controversy needs in Carlsbad, contact the Lawyers at The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing today. Our experienced Tax Lawyers offer a reduced-rate consultation on new cases or engagements. Call (760) 338-7035 or 800-681-1295 or contact us online today to schedule a reduce rate initial consultation at our Carlsbad tax law offices, or at one of our other convenient locations across Southern California.