How to talk with tax preparer if you're afraid you did an illegal thing?

[reikiman]

What is the name of your state? -- NY State

This isn't me, but a friend, who left her husband w/o getting divorced and has never notified officialdom of her current address. Basically, these weren't wise moves to make, and there may have been one or two other unwise actions, and she wants to get everything straightened up, but is afraid to talk with a tax preparer because the preparer might be required to turn her in to the IRS.

The question is what I said at the top - How to start the conversation with a tax preparer when you may have done illegal things? How much is required to be disclosed? Is the tax preparer required to snitch to the IRS?

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? -- NY State

This isn't me, but a friend, who left her husband w/o getting divorced and has never notified officialdom of her current address. Basically, these weren't wise moves to make, and there may have been one or two other unwise actions, and she wants to get everything straightened up, but is afraid to talk with a tax preparer because the preparer might be required to turn her in to the IRS.

The question is what I said at the top - How to start the conversation with a tax preparer when you may have done illegal things? How much is required to be disclosed? Is the tax preparer required to snitch to the IRS?

Your "friend' should discuss her concerns with her attorney if she believes she did something illegal.

I do have to ask who the heck "officialdom" is and why she was required to "notify" them of her address?

 

[adjusterjack]

A tax attorney may be her best bet. It would be attorney-client privilege.

Though I doubt that she has to worry much about anything but maybe paying back taxes.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? -- NY State

This isn't me, but a friend, who left her husband w/o getting divorced and has never notified officialdom of her current address.

Not keeping your address current with certain federal and state agencies certainly can lead to problems, but that is also pretty easy to remedy.

Basically, these weren't wise moves to make, and there may have been one or two other unwise actions, and she wants to get everything straightened up, but is afraid to talk with a tax preparer because the preparer might be required to turn her in to the IRS.

The tax preparer is not required to turn the client into the IRS. But the tax preparer cannot, of course, aid in whatever tax crimes she may have committed. The biggest problem for her is that if she has committed some tax offense she is not protected by the federal law that grants privilege to tax preparers in civil tax matters. But attorneys always have the benefit of the attorney-client privilege. So if she's afraid she's committed some tax crime (or any other crime for that matter that might be revealed with her tax filings), she'd want to start by consulting a tax attorney to get the benefit of that privilege. The lawyer can guide her from there.

 

[reikiman]

Your "friend' should discuss her concerns with her attorney if she believes she did something illegal.

I do have to ask who the heck "officialdom" is and why she was required to "notify" them of her address?

What I meant by "officialdom" is - DMV for an ID card change of address.

 

[adjusterjack]

What I meant by "officialdom" is - DMV for an ID card change of address.

Not exactly Public Enemy Number 1.

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state? -- NY State

This isn't me, but a friend, who left her husband w/o getting divorced and has never notified officialdom of her current address.

Are you saying that the total extent of her concern is her failure to notify the DMV of her current address? Or, are you saying that she has other concerns and her change of address was just an example?

If the total extent of her "crimes" is the failure to update her address, then she has no worries. Nobody is going to care about that unless she gets pulled over, and even then, it's just a relatively small fine and no points on her license (and that's assuming she is even issued a citation for it). Changing one's address with the NY DMV is easy to to (https://dmv.ny.gov/address-change/how-change-your-address) and she doesn't even need to get a new driver's license - she'll simply line out the old address and write in the new one once the change has been made at the DMV. If she has concerns about an abuser finding her new address, there may be alternatives.

 

[zddoodah]

a friend, who left her husband w/o getting divorced and has never notified officialdom of her current address.

"officialdom"?

Basically, these weren't wise moves to make

What weren't wise moves? Leaving her husband? Not getting divorced? Not notifying the DMV of her current address for ID card (but not driver's license) purposes?

she wants to get everything straightened up, but is afraid to talk with a tax preparer because the preparer might be required to turn her in to the IRS.

I doubt that a situation would arise where a tax preparer would be so required (and none of the things you mentioned have anything to do with the IRS or taxes). However, since you haven't given any indication of what crime(s) your friend may have committed, it's awfully difficult to comment. By the way, does your friend know that you're posting about this on a public internet message board?

How to start the conversation with a tax preparer when you may have done illegal things? How much is required to be disclosed? Is the tax preparer required to snitch to the IRS?

Bottom line: if you friend knows or believes she has done something illegal, she should discuss it with an attorney, and only an attorney. An attorney will be bound by a duty of confidentiality not to disclose anything to anyone.

Note that attorney-client privilege is a rule of evidence that only becomes relevant in a legal proceeding when discovery is sought or something is offered into evidence. It's the duty of confidentiality that is relevant here.

 

[reikiman]

Bottom line: if you friend knows or believes she has done something illegal, she should discuss it with an attorney, and only an attorney. An attorney will be bound by a duty of confidentiality not to disclose anything to anyone.

Note that attorney-client privilege is a rule of evidence that only becomes relevant in a legal proceeding when discovery is sought or something is offered into evidence. It's the duty of confidentiality that is relevant here.

Thank you - this is exactly what I wanted to know.

I thought this might be the case, but I have zero experience in working with lawyers.

Yes, my friend does know I'm asking questions on her behalf. This is part of how I'm helping her. Basically think of the kind of person who's in hiding afraid to make any move -- that's where she is.

 

[Just Blue]

Thank you - this is exactly what I wanted to know.

I thought this might be the case, but I have zero experience in working with lawyers.

Yes, my friend does know I'm asking questions on her behalf. This is part of how I'm helping her. Basically think of the kind of person who's in hiding afraid to make any move -- that's where she is.

She should seek therapy for that problem. Hiding doesn't make one's issues go away and often it just makes them worse.