A creator made 5.4 million dollars and is now facing federal charges and up to seven years in prison.

@the_only_consultant

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Katherine Studley Tax Consulting

https://stan.store/theonlyconsultant ↗

Why it worked

The video uses a high-stakes news story as a hook to educate the audience on a common pain point (taxes), establishing the creator's authority before transitioning into a soft sell for her professional services.

Summary

The creator explains why a content creator was charged with federal tax fraud, emphasizing that the issue was filing a false return rather than simply owing money. She then provides actionable advice on how to avoid similar legal trouble and promotes her own tax consulting services.

Structure

1Hook about a creator facing jail for tax fraud
2Explanation of why owing taxes isn't a crime but filing falsely is
3Breakdown of the creator's specific tax mistakes
4Actionable tips for tax compliance and saving
5Pitch for the creator's own tax consulting practice

Product placement

The creator mentions her own tax consulting practice and directs viewers to her client application link in her bio.

Call to action

Follow along for more judgement-free tax help. There's a client application in the link in my bio.

Original caption

#greenscreen this is how you go to jail for messing up on your taxes - WILLFUL tax evasion. #irsupdate #taxtok #jailtok

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On-screen text

A creator made $5.4 MILLION AND IS NOW FACING FEDERAL CHARGES AND UP TO SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON. And it's not because she owed money to the IRS. OWING IS NOT A CRIME. So between 2019 and 2023, she made over 5 MILLION FROM THE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM. All of that is TAXABLE INCOME. So in 2020, she filed and she owed half a million dollars and didn't pay it. The next year, she made over 2 million dollars and didn't pay that. And this went on for four years. OKAY, SO HERE'S THE PART THAT MATTERS. AGAIN, OWING THE IRS IS NOT GONNA GET YOU IN JAIL. IT'S GONNA GET YOU INTEREST AND PENALTIES. IT'S ANNOYING, BUT IT'S NOT JAIL TIME. WHAT TURNED THIS INTO A FEDERAL CASE IS THAT SHE FILED A FALSE TAX RETURN IN 2019 AND THEN DID NOT PAY HER TAX AFTER THAT. THIS PATTERN, PROSECUTORS CALL WILLFUL. AND WILLFUL IS THE WORD THAT TURNS YOUR TAX BILL INTO AN INDICTMENT. WHEN YOU EARN MONEY ON THESE PLATFORMS, IT GETS REPORTED WITH THE IRS. THEY ARE EXPECTING A TAX RETURN FROM YOU SHOWING THIS INCOME AND YOUR EXPENSES ACCORDINGLY. AND WHEN SHE PUT FALSE INFORMATION ON A RETURN, IT LOOKS LIKE SHE IS TRYING TO EVADE TAXES, WHICH IS NOW A FEDERAL CRIME. SO WHAT'S THE FIX? HOW DOES THIS NOT HAPPEN TO YOU? NUMBER ONE, YOU'RE GONNA FILE YOUR TAXES AND YOU'RE GONNA TELL THE TRUTH ON THOSE TAXES. YOU'RE GONNA SET ASIDE MONEY EVERY TIME YOU GET PAID. 25% OF WHAT COMES INTO YOU CAN GO TO A HIGH-YIELD SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR TAX TIME. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE FUNDS, YOU CAN SET UP AN IRS PAYMENT PLAN. THAT'S ALSO AN OPTION. YOU CAN PAY ESTIMATED TAX PAYMENTS QUARTERLY. AND IF YOU CANNOT PAY YOUR TAX BILL, YOU SHOULD FILE ANYWAYS, BECAUSE THERE'S A FAILURE TO FILE PENALTY AND A FAILURE TO PAY. SO IF YOU CAN AT LEAST FILE, YOU'RE HALFWAY THERE. THIS IS WHY I BUILT MY PRACTICE AND WORK TO CREATE A JUDGEMENT-FREE SAFE SPACE AND WHY WE VALUE COMPLIANCE AS WELL. FOLLOW ALONG FOR MORE JUDGEMENT-FREE TAX HELP. THERE'S A CLIENT APPLICATION IN THE LINK IN MY BIO.

Transcript

A creator made 5.4 million dollars and is now facing federal charges and up to seven years in prison. And it's not because she owed money to the IRS. Owing is not a crime. So between 2019 and 2023, she made over 5 million from the subscription platform. All of that is taxable income. So in 2020, she filed and she owed half a million dollars and didn't pay it. The next year, she made over 2 million dollars and didn't pay that. And this went on for four years. Okay, so here's the part that matters. Again, owing the IRS is not going to get you in jail. It's going to get you interest and penalties. It's annoying, but it's not jail time. What turned this into a federal case is that she filed a false tax return in 2019 and then did not pay her tax after that. This pattern, prosecutors call willful. And willful is the word that turns your tax bill into an indictment. When you earn money on these platforms, it gets reported with the IRS. They are expecting a tax return from you showing this income and your expenses accordingly. And when she put false information on a return, it looks like she is trying to evade taxes, which is now a federal crime. So what's the fix? How does this not happen to you? Number one, you're going to file your taxes and you're going to tell the truth on those taxes. You're going to set aside money every time you get paid. 25% of what comes into you can go to a high-yield savings account for tax time. If you don't have the funds, you can set up an IRS payment plan. That's also an option. You can pay estimated tax payments quarterly. And if you cannot pay your tax bill, you should file anyways, because there's a failure to file penalty and a failure to pay. So if you can at least file, you're halfway there. This is why I built my practice and work to create a judgement-free safe space and why we value compliance as well. Follow along for more judgement-free tax help. There's a client application in the link in my bio.