11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) O107.1

26 U.S.C. § 7201

It’s a federal crime to willfully attempt to evade or defeat paying federal

income taxes.

The Defendant can be found guilty of this crime only if all the following

facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) the Defendant owed substantial income tax in addition to the

amount declared on [his/her] tax return;

(2) the Defendant knew when [he/she] filed that income tax return that

[he/she] owed substantially more income taxes than the amount

reported on [his/her] tax return; and

(3) the Defendant intended to evade or defeat paying income taxes

[he/she] knew [he/she] was required by law to pay.

The Government does not have to prove the precise amount of additional tax

due. But it must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant knowingly

attempted to evade or defeat paying a substantial part of the additional tax.

The word “attempt” indicates that the Defendant knew and understood that,

during the particular tax year involved, [he /she] had income that (i) was taxable

and (ii) had to be reported by law; but [he /she] tried to evade or defeat paying the

tax or a substantial portion of the tax on that income by failing to report all of the

income [he/she] knew [he/she] was required by law to report.

Federal income taxes are levied upon income that comes from compensation

for personal services of every kind and in whatever form paid, whether it’s wages,

commissions, or money earned for performing services. Income taxes are also

levied on profits earned from any business, regardless of its nature, and from

interest, dividends, rents, and the like. Income tax also applies to any gain from the

sale of a capital asset.

In short, the term “gross income” means all income from whatever source,

unless it’s specifically excluded by law.

The law allows exemptions from income taxes for funds acquired from

certain sources. The most common nontaxable sources are loans, gifts,

inheritances, the proceeds of insurance policies, and funds received from selling an

asset to the extent that the amount received is the same or less than the asset’s cost.