Unfiled Tax Returns & Owing Back Taxes

Unfiled Tax Returns & Owing Back Taxes

Unfiled tax returns by individuals and businesses can lead to extreme consequences in both IRS and State tax situations. Many individuals and business owners don’t realize failing to file a tax return is a crime the IRS does pursue. The United States Federal Penal Code states that willfully failing to file a tax return is a Federal misdemeanor for every year you didn’t file. Furthermore, not filing multiple tax returns could be deemed an “overt act of tax evasion” and would be a felony under Federal law.

Eventually, not filing tax returns will catch up with you. The other consequences of not filing Federal and State tax returns are that eventually, the IRS will send you a CP59 letter requesting you to file a return. If you fail to file a tax return after receipt of this letter, the IRS or State will file a Substitute for Return (SFR) for each year of unfiled taxes. The unfiled years are filed at a married single or as a single filer status. Any deductions or credits are not allowed and the return is filed at the highest possible tax bracket based on the information available to the IRS or State regarding your past income.

In addition to filing an SFR, every month the return is unfiled, the IRS assesses a Failure to File penalty of 5% up to the maximum of 25%. This is for every unfiled year and it is assessed monthly. Our tax attorneys in Jacksonville, FL have seen hundreds of incidents where a few thousand dollars in tax debt ends up being tens of thousands of dollars because of the Substitute for Return filings and the 25% penalty for the unfiled tax years.

Stimulus Checks are Impacted by Unfiled Tax Returns

There are even more consequences for individuals and business owners who fail file in the post-Coronavirus world of Coronavirus Stimulus checks. If you have not filed a 2018 or 2019 Federal tax return you will not receive a stimulus check. As future Coronavirus Stimulus money becomes available, if you have unfiled tax returns, you will be precluded from receiving future Stimulus money. For business owners in Jacksonville, FL with unfiled tax returns, you will be denied access to the Payroll Protection Program loans that are part of the CARES Act (Coronavirus Stimulus Package).

Severe tax problems are always a result of unfiled tax returns and this can make an individual or business owner feel hopeless. Without their W-2 information, even when a person or business wants to get their back taxes filed, they don’t have what they need or know how to get it. Individuals need their W-2 information from past employers to ensure the unfiled returns accurately report earnings.

Our Jacksonville Tax Attorneys Can Help with Unfiled Tax Returns

The tax attorneys at J David Tax Law in Jacksonville, FL have access to the IRS database allowing us to retrieve your income and W-2 information needed to file from twenty years of unfiled tax returns to as few as one year. If you have not filed your tax returns for many years, being in compliance with the IRS and State leads to peace of mind you have not known in a long time. Your peace of mind is robbed when you know you haven’t filed and that the IRS, State, or both are coming for you. Contact J. David Tax Law in Jacksonville, FL now at (904) 674-3268 for a no-cost consultation with a tax professional so you can have greater peace of mind.

At J David Tax Law in Jacksonville, FL, you will only work with a tax attorney. We have a full staff of tax preparers that can handle the most complex of tax returns.

Remember, peace of mind is only a click or a phone call away.

Click here to request a no-cost consultation.