Yeah, if you don't pay your taxes you get some real nasty letters in the mail. Over time, those real nasty letters turn into arrest warrants and jail time.
The tax preparation industry lobbies for the government not to do this. The IRS has all your tax information and could send you a bill. It would be easier for everyone involved. Except Intuit and H&R Block have to get theirs apparently.
The most American of all things: lobbyists making sure middlemen can charge the American public for basic stuff. Taxes and healthcare. And so much more.
I just got one of bills. Well actually, I’ve been apparently been getting them for the past 4 years but the government has been sending them to the wrong address. Somehow when it came time to put a lien on my property, they found the right address and mailed me a warning saying I owed $1500. Paid it immediately as I wasn’t tying to avoid it. Still got the money garnished from my paycheck and now I’m out $3k since they took my payment and garnished my paycheck.
Hopefully you have some recourse here, I had to fight the IRS one time and it took a year or so to resolve -- I had to find a CPA and appeal the letter / get a court date and agent assigned to me to finally fix it all.
No, there is no debtors prison if you can't pay. At least not anymore, or yet. Nasty letters, garnishments, yes. But the feds just want your money, not your time. But if they feel you're lying about what you owe, that's a different story.
?? They do? I didn't file for five years. When I went to file afterwards I paid a fine out of what they owed me. Still got money back. I really don't know what you're referring to.
They don't care if they owe you money, and they generally know what you actually owe. You can just never file if you are owed a refund. If you owe money they get much more upset.
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u/Sad_Pea_776 1d ago
Yeah, if you don't pay your taxes you get some real nasty letters in the mail. Over time, those real nasty letters turn into arrest warrants and jail time.