My daughter's sister in-law and her husband have not filed taxes since 1998. If they file them now can they also be charged criminally? Would they go to jail with minor children?
2006-06-12 07:23:44 · 11 answers · asked by BolingbrookWonderer 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Oddly enough, non-filing is only a misdemeanor but making a false statement on a return is a criminal offense.
The IRS figured out a long time ago that putting people in jail is not a good way to collect money, so they rarely do that. How much money can you earn by making license plates? They want the money, not your body.
Your relatives will owe the tax year by year plus penalties and interest. By now the penalties and interest will equal 70% or more of the tax due for the earlier years. The IRS will waive some of the penalties if you call them before they call you.
The penalties and interest are normally based on the unpaid amounts, i.e., if the tax owed was $ 5,000 and you had $ 2,000 paid in, you generally will owe penalty and interest only on the $ 3,000 due.
You can make installment payment agreements and sometimes, after much negotiation (better done by professionals) you can get a reduction in the balance due because of insufficient assets and income.
2006-06-12 07:47:13 · answer #1 · answered by Jimbo Ketan 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
H&R Block is worthless...you need to seek out a registered agent (that is a specific and important thing) and ask for advice. The big picture you seem to be missing is that screwing this up for him and/or you could cost you big time with the IRS. How do you know that "your plan" won't trigger an IRS bill 6 or 7 times the 2 grand a good registered agent will charge you (could be less, could be more, but you should know up front and as you go with a good agent)? On the surface, your plan makes zero sense to me for you personally...although I am NOT a registered agent. Any defense that you might have had that you are the Injured Spouse gets flushed down the toilet when you refile. Plus, I assume, you do not have an actual calculation of all the penalties and interest you have accrued, so, like I said, are you sure that you can't afford to hire an expert...?
2016-03-27 01:49:25 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would advise them to file immediately. They will probably find that they are due a refund, especially w/ minor children in the home. They can receive any refund due to them going back three years. They would not go to jail. Very doubtful they would face criminal charges. Tell them to contact a tax professional and file as soon as possible...it could be good news!!
2006-06-17 12:10:31 · answer #3 · answered by lade40free 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably not, but they need to do it ASAP. If the IRS contacts them prior to them filing, then they will be up a creek. Tell them to DO IT NOW, and don't mess with the IRS. They can DEFINITELY go to jail with minor children. It's called Tax Evasion. Look it up on www.IRS.gov
2006-06-12 07:29:47 · answer #4 · answered by Botanesis 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, they won't go to jail. They can file now for the back years but they may have to pay penalties for not filing. If they have to find you, then you may be in some trouble. My husband did this to me before we got married.
2006-06-12 07:27:04 · answer #5 · answered by Stacy R 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They won't go to jail if they pay now. They will, however, have to pay off the back years by a certain time as well as paying extra as a sort of "late fee" like when you don't pay a bill on time. However, if they keep prolonging it, they'll just get in deeper trouble and may have to go to jail, BUT only if they wait!
2006-06-12 07:30:30 · answer #6 · answered by Miru 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The penalty for 'failing to file' is far higher that 'failing to withold'.
If you paid your taxes, but just never filed, they are halfway happy.
Talk to the IRS, they will work with you.
2006-06-13 08:20:11 · answer #7 · answered by vtguy777 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they fess up and file taxes and they aren't found to have committed fraud or anything crazy, they should be fine. I would recommend hiring a CPA to help them with this if at all possible.
2006-06-13 15:48:29 · answer #8 · answered by KariM 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
some guy told me he didnt do his income tax for 3 years, then he finally did it but ended up with abunch of penalties. The longer you wait the worse it is it seems.
2006-06-12 10:48:06 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
talk to the IRS about this - they may be willing to settle the case with no prison time if they pay back taxes and interest
2006-06-12 07:26:02 · answer #10 · answered by Richard H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋