UNFILED TAX RETURNS

A surprisingly large number of individuals have unfiled tax returns going back a number of years. This can have serious consequences in different ways. If returns are unfiled for five (5) years, there is a rebuttable presumption of criminal intent to not file tax returns, a federal offense. Also, if tax returns are unfiled, IRS has the option of calculating what it believes, the taxpayer owes, a so-called “substitute for Return” or “SFR”. Typically, SFR’s are calculated so as to maximize any potential tax liability, as they routinely ignore calid deductions. 

Additionally, while most income tax debts arising out of filed tax returns can be discharged in bankruptcy under certain conditions, tax debts arising out of an SFR are NEVER dischargeable in bankruptcy. Finally, a taxpayer with unfiled tax returns is barred, pursuant to IRS regulations from relief from wage garnishment on from entering into a payment arrangement to resolve debts.

Moreover, if a person has not filed tax returns for several years, there is a risk of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.  IRS appears to use its’ Criminal Investigation Division to scare people into filing returns.

If you have not filed returns for several years, it is extremely dangerous to deal with the IRS yourself.  This office routinely assists non-filers in avoiding criminal liability by filing missing returns pursuant to a schedule.  Unlike most IRS defenders, John Weinberg served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney and has been intimately involved in such prosecutions.  Weinberg Law Firm also assists our clients in reducing their tax liability from the large amount calculated by the IRS in its’ SFR’s to a more realistic amount, based on the actual returns.

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