3 ms·

They can jail you for a mistake, let alone a lie.

• wbl 7y ago
  No, they cannot jail you for a mistake if in fact you honestly think you did everything right. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheek_v._United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheek_v._United_States
  • hcknwscommenter 7y ago
    That's not quite right. The case you cite does support your position. But, the bar for jail time is a higher hurdle for the gov't to surmount than that. You merely have a good faith belief you did not violate the law. Therefore, if you are handling a gray area and you know the IRS could take a different position, you can still rest easy about jail time so long as you don't intentionally deceive/lie/etc. This is not legal advice
    • wbl 7y ago
      The IRS even has a way for you to tell them "I think the law says this".
  • perl4ever 7y ago
    Also, if you and they don't find a mistake for a few years, there is a statutory limitation on them even collecting money. I don't remember exactly, but it's less that I'd thought.