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I stopped filing my taxes starting in 2011 for 2010. I had always hated the process, but in 2010 I had switched jobs several times, and had misplaced one of the

I stopped filing my taxes starting in 2011 for 2010. I had always hated the process, but in 2010 I had switched jobs several times, and had misplaced one of the stubs mailed by an employer. I have almost always worked as an employee, not a contractor or business, so I did not owe money--they probably owed me. I decided that rather than get the couple hundred bucks I would receive as my return, I will forgo the stupid process altogether. I have yet to hear from anyone about it, and I have become a little bit happier by not having to deal with that crap. In 2014, I gave up income altogether, so I am no longer required to file. Before then, I guess you could call it civil disobedience.

newman8r 8y ago
What do you mean by giving up income? Do you have a lot of money saved up or something?
- forgotmypw 8y ago
  I have gradually converted to a currency-free lifestyle. I don't use money for almost anything.
zacharycohn 8y ago
You may want to consult a tax attorney, if you haven't already...
- canadaj 8y ago
  I second this. Uncle Sam isn't going to just overlook 4+ years of un-filed tax returns.
  - ars 8y ago
    If the returns show a refund, then yes, they will.
  - jonnycomputer 8y ago
    You are not required to file if you earn under around $10k as an individual. That could be the case for this person.
- ars 8y ago
  If the IRS owes him money nothing will happen other than a reminder letter. He won't get in trouble or anything. They will calculate a substitute return and mail it to him. If it shows a refund he can chose to accept, reject, or ignore it. Accept: They'll send him money. But not as much as if he had done the return himself. Reject: You do that by filing a correct return. Ignore: Then he's giving a free gift to the government. Which is his choice I guess. PS. He may regret his decision later if he wants to get a loan, or apply for government services.
  - zacharycohn 8y ago
    And if he owes the IRS money because he hasn't paid his taxes in 8 years because it's inconvenient, he's in for a world of hurt.
raincom 8y ago
If IRS owes you money, you need to claim it within 3 years. That's another reason for you to file taxes, even when you think you don't owe them any money.
dqpb 8y ago
How did you give up income?
- InitialLastName 8y ago
  After a quick glance through their comment history, it appears they figured out this one neat trick called "homelessness".
  - newman8r 8y ago
    If that's true then I feel bad for the guy. Would probably be best for the IRS to give people amnesty in that situation.
    - InitialLastName 8y ago
      I feel worse for the people whose actual, involuntary problems they are trivializing by presenting (true or not) their situation as a "lifestyle choice". If it helps, some other comments in this thread indicate that there's no need to file a tax return on yearly income under ~$10,000 so this person and others in their situation would likely qualify. I don't think the IRS should give amnesty for past willful nonpayment in light of present circumstances though. We have a different mechanism for that; it's called bankruptcy.
      - newman8r 8y ago
        If you never filed the tax returns in the first place or willfully evaded, you couldn't discharge that debt in bankruptcy. Maybe amnesty isn't the solution, but if you're living out of your car and have IRS issues looming over your head, escaping that life could be pretty tough, and that sucks.
      - forgotmypw 8y ago
        If you re-read my comment, you will see that there was never a non-payment, only a non-filing.
    - 8y ago
wyldfire 8y ago
> I gave up income altogether What does this mean?
- forgotmypw 8y ago
  I stopped paying rent, first couch-surfing and van-dwelling, then living mostly outdoors, in a sleeping bag. I stopped paying for food, taking advantage of all the food that is wasted daily. I stopped paying for clothes, wearing free second-hand instead. That's most of it. For other things, like computers and phones, I follow a similar strategy. Now I am free to spend almost all the time I have in whatever ways I choose.
JumpCrisscross 8y ago
> I guess you could call it civil disobedience Willful failure to file is a felony [1]. [1] https://www.irs.gov/irm/part25/irm_25-001-007 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part25/irm_25-001-007
- ada1981 8y ago
  Not exactly. >> Willful failure to file a tax return is a misdemeanor pursuant to IRC 7203. In cases where an overt act of evasion occurred, willful failure to file may be elevated to a felony under IRC 7201. <<
  - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
    > Willful failure to file a tax return is a misdemeanor Carrying up to one year of jail time under federal law. States usually have penalties, too. > In cases where an overt act of evasion occurred, willful failure to file may be elevated to a felony OP is bragging about willfully failing to file on the Internet. Something tells me proving this wouldn't take a sleuth.
    - ada1981 8y ago
      Overt acts of evasion aren’t simply not sending in your paperwork. It would be actively doing things to hide, falsify documents, etc. This seems to be mostly for businesses and folks doing a lot of cash transactions. Sounds like OP isn’t making much money to begin with — is it really worth the IRS time or to prosecute him? I imagine they’d tell him to pay and fine him. Doubtful it’s a felony based on his description.
- forgotmypw 8y ago
  civ·il dis·o·be·di·ence /ˈsivil ˈˌdisəˈbēdēəns/ noun the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest.
hobs 8y ago
If it wasn't already clear, this is insanely bad advice, and flagrantly disregarding the IRS is an easy method to attain huge fees and possibly jail time.
jonnycomputer 8y ago
In 2017 the minimum employment income required to file was $10,400 for an individual under 65. No laws need necessarily have been broken.
- jklein11 8y ago
  Can you show me the source for this? My understanding was that the $10,400 was the minimum taxable amount of income, not the minimum required to file. Edit: looks like I was wrong. That number matches what turbo tax is saying[1] 1. https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/does-everyone-need-to-file-an-income-tax-return/L7pluHkoW https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/does-eve...
  - jonnycomputer 8y ago
    thanks.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
theandrewbailey 8y ago
> I decided that rather than get the couple hundred bucks I would receive as my return, I will forgo the stupid process altogether. You would rather willfully evade taxes (not file) to protest the system? The hundreds of dollars in your favor doesn't cut it for you?
- forgotmypw 8y ago
  The hundreds of dollars in my favor are not worth the mental energy I had to expend on the process. All those cycles are be much better spent on something else.

newman8r 8y ago

What do you mean by giving up income? Do you have a lot of money saved up or something?

forgotmypw 8y ago
I have gradually converted to a currency-free lifestyle. I don't use money for almost anything.

zacharycohn 8y ago

You may want to consult a tax attorney, if you haven't already...

canadaj 8y ago
I second this. Uncle Sam isn't going to just overlook 4+ years of un-filed tax returns.
- ars 8y ago
  If the returns show a refund, then yes, they will.
- jonnycomputer 8y ago
  You are not required to file if you earn under around $10k as an individual. That could be the case for this person.
ars 8y ago
If the IRS owes him money nothing will happen other than a reminder letter. He won't get in trouble or anything. They will calculate a substitute return and mail it to him. If it shows a refund he can chose to accept, reject, or ignore it. Accept: They'll send him money. But not as much as if he had done the return himself. Reject: You do that by filing a correct return. Ignore: Then he's giving a free gift to the government. Which is his choice I guess. PS. He may regret his decision later if he wants to get a loan, or apply for government services.
- zacharycohn 8y ago
  And if he owes the IRS money because he hasn't paid his taxes in 8 years because it's inconvenient, he's in for a world of hurt.

raincom 8y ago

If IRS owes you money, you need to claim it within 3 years. That's another reason for you to file taxes, even when you think you don't owe them any money.

dqpb 8y ago

How did you give up income?

InitialLastName 8y ago
After a quick glance through their comment history, it appears they figured out this one neat trick called "homelessness".
- newman8r 8y ago
  If that's true then I feel bad for the guy. Would probably be best for the IRS to give people amnesty in that situation.
  - InitialLastName 8y ago
    I feel worse for the people whose actual, involuntary problems they are trivializing by presenting (true or not) their situation as a "lifestyle choice". If it helps, some other comments in this thread indicate that there's no need to file a tax return on yearly income under ~$10,000 so this person and others in their situation would likely qualify. I don't think the IRS should give amnesty for past willful nonpayment in light of present circumstances though. We have a different mechanism for that; it's called bankruptcy.
    - newman8r 8y ago
      If you never filed the tax returns in the first place or willfully evaded, you couldn't discharge that debt in bankruptcy. Maybe amnesty isn't the solution, but if you're living out of your car and have IRS issues looming over your head, escaping that life could be pretty tough, and that sucks.
    - forgotmypw 8y ago
      If you re-read my comment, you will see that there was never a non-payment, only a non-filing.
  - 8y ago

wyldfire 8y ago

> I gave up income altogether What does this mean?

forgotmypw 8y ago
I stopped paying rent, first couch-surfing and van-dwelling, then living mostly outdoors, in a sleeping bag. I stopped paying for food, taking advantage of all the food that is wasted daily. I stopped paying for clothes, wearing free second-hand instead. That's most of it. For other things, like computers and phones, I follow a similar strategy. Now I am free to spend almost all the time I have in whatever ways I choose.

JumpCrisscross 8y ago

> I guess you could call it civil disobedience Willful failure to file is a felony [1]. [1] https://www.irs.gov/irm/part25/irm_25-001-007 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part25/irm_25-001-007

ada1981 8y ago
Not exactly. >> Willful failure to file a tax return is a misdemeanor pursuant to IRC 7203. In cases where an overt act of evasion occurred, willful failure to file may be elevated to a felony under IRC 7201. <<
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago
  > Willful failure to file a tax return is a misdemeanor Carrying up to one year of jail time under federal law. States usually have penalties, too. > In cases where an overt act of evasion occurred, willful failure to file may be elevated to a felony OP is bragging about willfully failing to file on the Internet. Something tells me proving this wouldn't take a sleuth.
  - ada1981 8y ago
    Overt acts of evasion aren’t simply not sending in your paperwork. It would be actively doing things to hide, falsify documents, etc. This seems to be mostly for businesses and folks doing a lot of cash transactions. Sounds like OP isn’t making much money to begin with — is it really worth the IRS time or to prosecute him? I imagine they’d tell him to pay and fine him. Doubtful it’s a felony based on his description.
forgotmypw 8y ago
civ·il dis·o·be·di·ence /ˈsivil ˈˌdisəˈbēdēəns/ noun the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest.

hobs 8y ago

If it wasn't already clear, this is insanely bad advice, and flagrantly disregarding the IRS is an easy method to attain huge fees and possibly jail time.

jonnycomputer 8y ago

In 2017 the minimum employment income required to file was $10,400 for an individual under 65. No laws need necessarily have been broken.

jklein11 8y ago
Can you show me the source for this? My understanding was that the $10,400 was the minimum taxable amount of income, not the minimum required to file. Edit: looks like I was wrong. That number matches what turbo tax is saying[1] 1. https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/does-everyone-need-to-file-an-income-tax-return/L7pluHkoW https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/does-eve...
- jonnycomputer 8y ago
  thanks.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

theandrewbailey 8y ago

> I decided that rather than get the couple hundred bucks I would receive as my return, I will forgo the stupid process altogether. You would rather willfully evade taxes (not file) to protest the system? The hundreds of dollars in your favor doesn't cut it for you?

forgotmypw 8y ago
The hundreds of dollars in my favor are not worth the mental energy I had to expend on the process. All those cycles are be much better spent on something else.