What if you didn't pay taxes for 15 years?

Question

What if you didn't pay taxes for 15 years?

Answer 1

Did your report your taxes and just not pay?  Or did you just not file taxes at all?  If you didn't file at all you should probably start filing them and try to get your best records and report to the IRS before something worst happens to you.  If you report your taxes and you cannot pay, the IRS will work with you to set up a payment plan to pay the taxes back that does fit into your budget(somewhat).  

If there is doubt to what you actually owe and doubt that you can actually pay, you may qualify for an offer in compromise where you will actually only pay a fraction of what you actually owe.  To get an offer in compromise file IRS form 656 with the IRS.  Do some serious research on it beforehand though because most of these get rejected.

If you need professional help filing old tax returns and filing for an offer in compromise, there are many sites out there that will help.  It is great to use a tax professional because they know what is involved in these filings and they can tell you beforehand your likely outcomes.  You can talk to one of these tax professionals with no obligation and no risk at all.  One good site to get help at is endthisdebt.com: http://www.endthisdebt.com/tax_debt.cfm

Answer 2

If you had w-2 income and didn;t file - IRS would have tracked you down by now or are you talking about working under the table - if you worked under the table for 15 yrs - you only hurt yourself - you haven't been earning any social security credits - you need 40 quarters/10 yrs of earning to qualify for basic minimum soc sec benefits - have you been investing your money for retirement?

Answer 3

if you made -0- who cares but if you didn't you may want to call the irs and see if they will accept you under a voluntary compliance agreement which will mean you just pay the tax and no penalties. when you call the irs do not give your name just ask to speak with a revenue agent. call using a calling card so they don't see your name on the caller id.

Answer 4

If you were earning taxable income during those 15 years, then you can look forward to a nice long stay in Federal Prison.

Answer 5

The IRS will probably wait until it is worth their while prosecuting you. Technically, they have no right to demand income tax from you, but the finer points of the law do not count when it comes to bullying governmental organisations. Convention rather than the law counts, unfortunately.

Answer 6

Depends alot on why you did not pay and how much money you made and how much taxes you should have paid.  If you made $10,000 a year, the IRS will barely blink.  If you made $100,000 for 15 years, that is $1,500,000 the IRS would like to  know about - and could be enough to land you in jail...

One of the number one targets for the IRS over the next five to ten years is to track down under-the table earnings. - Earnings that should have been reported on a 1099, or earnings that should have been reported on a W-2 and were put on a 1099 instead...

Talk to an accountant who is an enrolled agent - enrolled agents are accountants who have taken a test from the IRS testing their knowledge of the tax laws..  They should be able to tell you if they can help you, or if you need to get a lawyer.

Answer 7

Run!!! Uncle Sam will crush you with his tall hat. Just kidding... If you earned taxable income for those years, you have been dodging the government and will be subject to steep fines, and/or prison time. If you earned no taxable income during those year, you are fine. If you have been getting income on the side, you could be in big trouble. Think long and hard about this, make sure you figure it out, contact an accountant or lawyer, and then contact the IRS. Good luck.