What if You Didn't File Your Taxes?

Did you miss the April 15 filing deadline? If so, you need to realize that you can still file your taxes to ensure that you do not get into hot water with the IRS. While you never want to miss a tax filing deadline, it is not the end of the world if you do. That being said, you need to be aware of the consequences of not filing, the penalties that you may incur, what will happen to your refund, and much more.

Above all else, you should be aware of the consequences of not filing your taxes. They include:

1. A failure to file penalty. The longer you wait to file your taxes the larger your penalty will become. Believe it or not, if you wait too long your total tax liability can increase by as much as 25 percent thanks to penalties and interest. Do you really want to pay the IRS this extra money?

2. Lost refund. If the IRS owes you a refund there is no failure to file penalty. But this doesn't mean that you can sit back and wait as long as you want. Simply put, you cannot receive a refund from the IRS, no matter how small or big, until you file a return. At this time, the law states that you must file your return within three years to receive what is coming to you. After that, the IRS does not owe you anything.

3. EITC. Are you interested in claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit? Even if you are not required to file a return you must do so if you want to claim this tax credit. To receive the EITC you have to file your return within three years of the original due date.

4. Statute of Limitations. After the statute of limitations expires the law says that the IRS is not allowed to issue a refund check. To go along with this, the law also prevents the application of overpayment or other credits to other years in which you may not have paid enough. What about the IRS? Do they have a statute of limitations? For them, the statute to collect outstanding taxes does not start until you file your return.

As you can see, there are many reasons why you need to file your taxes on time. The consequences of not doing so can be pretty serious. You may be faced with penalties and interest if you owe the IRS additional money in taxes. To go along with this, if you do not file you cannot receive a refund.

No matter why you have not filed your taxes you need to do so as soon as possible. The best way to file a delinquent return is to hire a tax professional who can organize your situation. It is especially important to hire a professional if you have failed to file for several years.

Even if you cannot pay your tax liability in full you should still file a return. The IRS will allow you to pay taxes in installments.

Filing a tax return every year is very important. This is something you have to do regardless of whether you are expecting a refund or will owe additional money.

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Back Taxes Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions taxpayers have about back taxes and the different problems and situations that arise from not filing or owing taxes.

How to File Back Taxes
Understand why it is important to file back taxes, what the steps are to file back taxes and advice for success.

Consequences of Not Filing Taxes
There are strict penalties imposed on individuals that do not file taxes. Even if you missed a filing or multiple, it is best to file before the IRS finds you.

What is the Failure to File Penalty?
Understand how to calculate the penalty for not filing your taxes. Understand what the maximum is and what happens if fraud or negligence is involved.

Penalty Abatement
Do you have a legitimate reason for not filing your taxes? If you do, it is possible to get some or all of your penalties you owe removed.

Find Out How Much IRS Taxes You Owe
Understand the different ways you can find out how much you owe the IRS.