Can someone go to jail for not filing taxes with the IRS?
Absolutely NOT! Failure to file is a Civil infraction, not a criminal one. Fraud or understatement of tax can have criminal penalties. Here’s how the process works when one fails to file: IRS matches up all reports of income (W-2s, 1099s, etc) via computer and creates a substitute for return (SFR) based on standard deduction, no dependents and so on, that is in the least advantageous form for you. The tax on the SFR is compared to the withholding. If the result is that you owe, you will certainly hear from them demanding that you file (and pay). If the result is a refund, a human inspects your prior returns to see if there is reason to believe that there is other income besides that reported. Again you might receive a demand letter for a return. I have seen no consistent pattern with demand letters in situations where a refund was probable. Absence of a demand letter does not mean that you do not owe for a tax year. You may have moved and their only obligation is to send mail to your l
