Any recourse against my tax adviser/preparer? I hired a professional 4 taxprep. IRS now says I owe $14,000 +?
Answer:
Did he sign your return as tax preparer? If so you can probably get the IRS to go after him.
You indicate you gave him full disclosure, on what?
Last year I had a taxpayer terrorize me, filed complaints etc., because they withdrew their entire 401k of over $55,000 and had taxable income of over $50,000. They didn't have any Federal withholding taken out of their 401k. They were furious at me, because they owed about what you do....they tried to get me reprimanded and all kinds of things just because they were foolish...so, if you can go into more details of what caused such high tax liability perhaps we can help....
If you owe, you owe. You might have a case against him in Small Claim's court for any penalties and interest, but don't hold your breath on that.
If the "tax prep guy" is a CPA, you can file a comlaint with the AICPA and the State Board of Accountancy. If he's an attorney, you can file a complaint with the State Bar Association. If he's just come schlub who hung out a "Tax Preparer" sign you probably don't have much recourse unless you can prove actual misconduct on his part.
Regardless of who prepares the return, the taxpayer (that's you) is SOLELY responsible for the information on the return and the accuracy of the return.
Your best bet would be to consult with a qualified CPA or tax attorney. Depending upon the facts of your case, it may be worth going to Tax Court if there is a question of law or its application.
The only person responsible for the taxes you owe is you. The preparer may be responsible to you for penalties or interest but the tax is yours 100%.
Obivously there was an error on your return. From your information, you made $60,000 and took out a 401k distribution of $85,000. The $17,000 withholding would not nearly cover the penalty of $8,500 plus income tax on $85,000, which in your case would be over $20,000. Now, since you already paid $8,500 toward the tax, the difference is what you owe.
Have the return in question reviewed by another professional, and verify that you do indeed owe $14,000.
Even though the preparer made have made an error, the preparer is not responsible for paying your tax.
You're missing one critical part: by cashing out your 401K the federal claims 20% which is correct because you have gained 20% pre-taxes when depositing to your 401K account. But there's a 10% tax penalty for early withdrawal that imposed to your returns and that maybe the tax preparer have not entered correctly on your returns which costs you dearly. 10% penalty seemed a lot if he ( the preparer ) also missed some of your deductions and itemized. Either way, you need to file for an amended tax and ask the I.R.S to file for an extension, this giving you more time to looking for another methods to refile your taxes, maybe its not $14,000 could be less...
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