{"id":376062,"date":"2016-03-31T21:36:30","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T02:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/pennsylvania-law\/pennsylvania-tax-evasion-laws.html"},"modified":"2018-03-02T14:07:25","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T19:07:25","slug":"pennsylvania-tax-evasion-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/pennsylvania-law\/pennsylvania-tax-evasion-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Tax Evasion Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pennsylvania Tax Evasion Laws<\/h1>\n
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Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

Every year, Americans across the country begrudgingly offer up a portion of their income to state and federal taxes — although residents of seven states need only pay federal income taxes (i.e. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming). But don\u2019t pick up and move to these seemingly lucky states just yet — residents of these states make up for the lack of income taxes by paying higher property taxes, sales taxes, etc.<\/p>\n

In general, you should always make the best effort to complete your returns as honestly and accurately as possible. Tax evasion<\/a> is a crime under Pennsylvania state law. It includes any attempt or scheme to cheat the government out of tax income. It also includes any failure to allow an agent of the taxation department of the government to inspect or examine the defendant’s books, papers, or records — or who knowingly makes false or fraudulent reports by failing to disclose the full amount of net income.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that Pennsylvania does not have a statute of limitations for tax evasion at the state level. This means that the state of Pennsylvania can still come after you, regardless of whether the alleged instance of tax evasion happened five, or even fifty, years ago. The state of limitations does not apply to tax evasion at the federal level with the IRS.<\/p>\n

Additional details about Pennsylvania’s tax evasion laws can be found in the following table.<\/p>\n\n
Statute<\/b><\/td>\n72 Pa. Stat. Section 3402-601<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>
Penalties<\/b><\/td>\n

The defendant may be found guilty of a misdemeanor and can be sentenced to pay a fine of no more than $1,000 plus the costs of prosecution. The defendant may also be imprisoned for up to three years. This may be in addition to the fine or in place of the fine, or both.<\/p>\n

The sentence will be at the discretion of the court and may be based on the severity of the crime.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>

Defenses to Tax Evasion Charges<\/b><\/td>\n