Legal Question in Tax Law in California

Re: Tax error - who's at fault

Unfortunately the answer to this question is the answer most clients had the most - "It depends."

Here, it depends on what information you gave the tax return preparer at the time he prepared the return. If the information was not available to him, he would not be responsible. Also, what correspondence do you have with the return preparer? What documents show what you delivered to him, and what you did not? You might say you gave �everything� to the preparer and most likely he would say this specific information was omitted. Thus, you would need to show with documentation that you provided this information to him. Secondly, he might respond and might claim: �Well I told you about reporting this income but you did not want to.�

These cases are common and the back and forth are frequently the same. It all comes down to who can prove what.

Right now you need to address things with the IRS and try to get the IRS to waive interest and penalties.