Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you have an accountant, or if you take your filing to a tax preparer. You can still get hit with tax issues and controversy, even when these financial professionals are involved. They’re human too, after all — and mistakes are bound to happen, no matter how skilled the individual.
Take the recent tax story involving late night TV personality Conan O’Brien. O’Brien had to pay $8,000 in back taxes on a piece of property he owns in New England. He was unaware of the issue, as was his accountant. A “clerical error” is what the tax mix-up is being blamed on, and O’Brien, after paying his back taxes, will be able to keep his property. It would have gone up for auction had O’Brien not paid the back taxes.
This issue highlights two factors with back taxes. The first is that there can be very serious consequences when you fail to pay your taxes, or if a mistake involving your taxes goes unresolved. Don’t hide from your tax debt or your back taxes. Confront them and do your very best to fix the issue. Otherwise, your assets, property and other finances could be greatly affected — and, thus, you will be greatly affected.
The other factor here is that mistakes can happen. When a mistake happens that involves something as complex as taxes and the tax code, you need to do everything in your power to correct the mistake. Sometimes, this means you need to consult an experienced tax attorney to help you deal with the Internal Revenue Service.
Source: FOX News, “Conan O’Brien pays back taxes, gets to keep home,” Associated Press, June 23, 2014