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tiffanym tiffanym
 

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 M¢25  Funded By Mahalo ? |  October 30, 2009 03:15 AM

What happens when your accountant is at fault in your taxes being late?

My business partner and I hired an accountant to do our taxes for an LLC. We did not owe anything for the year. The week before they were due, the accountant had not completed them. I kept calling, and he said he would get them done before April 15. I called on April 15, and he didn't have them done. So, he promised me he would file an extension for us, and have them done the next week. He didn't finish them for two more weeks, but since he had filed an extension, we figured it was ok. A couple of days ago we got a letter from the IRS saying we owed them $750 for failure to file on time.

Are we responsible for paying this if the accountant lied to us about filing our extension?
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silverhamm... silverhamm...
 
 October 30, 2009 02:08 PM
Yes you are responsible.

Pursuing the accountant in a civil law suit is a separate matter.

Pay the IRS today. Figure it out later.

Waiting to pay the IRS will only result in disaster even if you end up not owing them.

Oh, and next time use H&R Block. Buy the guarantee and if they screw up they send their own lawyers and pay the fines for you.
Source(s):
I watched the IRS seize an old boss's business, vehicle and cell phone, then arrest him. If I hadn't witnessed it his family wouldn't have known why he didn't come home from work that day.



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laceymdues... laceymdues...
 
October 30, 2009 05:11 AM
My grandparents recently had a similar problem. They had been paying a CPA to manage business accounts for two of thier business. Payroll, taxes, bills, anything to do with the company. The man had their address changed to a PO box and embezzeled tons of their money. The IRS finally got in touch with them claiming that they owe 75k in taxes. Although the man that did this to them is in jail, they are still being forced to pay this outrageous amount of money (that was stolen from them no less). I would say consult a good attorney and see what advice they may give you.
I also have a friend that is a CPA and he says that even though someone else did it, you are still partially at fault, and you will both have to pay.

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opher opher
 
October 30, 2009 12:47 PM
From the perspective of the IRS the taxpayer is responsible for filing on time (whether the 1040 or the request for extension) as well as for anything stated on his/her return (that's why the taxpayer has to sign the return even if it was prepared by a CPA). Having said that, an honest CPA who was the cause of a fine due to his not filing on time should offer to pay whatever fines he caused. It would certainly cost him less to pay this $750 fine than defend himself in court and/or the loss of business that a bad reputation would cost him.

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