I haven't filed taxes in 30 years! (It's not as fun as you think)

I haven't filed taxes in 30 years! (It's not as fun as you think)

As a tax attorney, it is common for me to encounter people who didn’t do things correctly. And I recall this one time, I met a stone mason from Norwalk, Connecticut who confided with me that he hadn’t filed taxes since the Reagan administration. How can this happen? How can someone not file taxes in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years and in this case, 30 years? The answer is easy. You’ll do it tomorrow. And after you’ve had about 10958 tomorrows that adds up to 30 years. Procrastination is incredibly easy to achieve, but sort of difficult to live with. Will you go to prison for years of unfiled tax returns? Anytime you are breaking federal law, you are really increasing your chances of prosecution. The US Department of Justice will prosecute those with unfiled returns, but the chances are that they won’t, unless you are doing something else or you are just too big of a fish to ignore. Now a big fish isn’t necessarily that big of a fish. For the IRS, a press release is what they want. If you’ve made $100,000 for the last 10 years, and are unfiled, you are definitely getting into the area of a big fish — the IRS can truthfully say in a press release, you did not report over a million dollars of income. And for the average juror and the public at large, there is little difference between a million and a billion. Of course there’s a huge difference, a million is a thousand thousands, and a billion is a thousand millions. Regardless, the perception can be that you’ve been living the high life, all while not paying taxes nearly everyone else is paying. But even if you do come under investigation, there is always something you can do to protect yourself. File your returns ASAP! I don’t understand this paralysis that comes over people once they are under criminal investigation. These should be the people working the hardest and quickest to get a problem behind them. But instead they are often advised to “sit back” and “wait” to see what happens. Well I am pretty sure I know what could happen if you don’t fix a huge problem that you know that you can be indicted for. Hint: It rhymes with indictment. Wait. No. The word is indictment. Why you SHOULD NOT File ALL Your Unfiled IRS Tax Returns. How many years should I go back? You will see different answers to this question. Because here is the inherent tension. Filing fewer returns could create criminal or audit exposure, filing too many can slow down resolution and you can wind up paying more than you should have. Some will give blanket rules, filing three, six, ten, or even back to the beginning. We look at each case one at a time. While the IRS’s policy is six years back, there are times when following this rule can create more problems than it solves. We’ve done more, we’ve done less. This is really an area where getting a professional opinion could save you a lot of money and headache. Refunds rule benefit the IRS If you don’t file a return, the IRS could assess you for those taxes at any time in the future. Our stone mason with that 1985 return? The IRS could file a SFR for him today! And would add in penalties and interest. However, if you are owed a refund, you have a limited amount of time file a return to claim that refund. The general rule is that you must file your refund claim three years from when the return was due - extensions count, or two years since a payment that you seek a refund on. If you are a day late, you will likely be completely frustrated from claiming a refund. The US government will keep your money even though they know you can prove you are owed that money. 100%. The IRS can assess forever, but when you are owed money, you have a small window of opportunity. Does this sound fair? Tax attorneys for tax problems Parent & Parent LLP 144 South Main Street Wallingford, CT 06492 (203) 269-6699 info@irsmedic.com https://ift.tt/1RfwK1f https://youtu.be/7ckPfYcjFnM IRS Medic