Originally Posted by
Big Steve
Tax fraud is a felony, so imprisonment is a risk although 99% of small biz cases are handled administratively, not as criminal matters. As a practical matter, the bigger risk is that the red flag leads to a major audit, possibly for several years. Those who are defrauding the IRS re personal appliances are likely involved in other tax evasion or tax fraud.
Well, if they have rental property they are at least filing a Schedule E, so in the eyes of the IRS they are business people. Yeah, I acknowledge that the IRS is understaffed and overworked, but OTOH I've seen too many small businesses get a red flag audit the eventually opens up a big can of worms.