Having unfiled taxes when you owe the IRS money is a very serious situation. Unfiled taxes are the quickest way to get very large tax penalties and in some serious trouble. The IRS does have the power to enforce some very harsh punishments on individuals but it is not standard practice for them to do [...]

Each year that passes the IRS gets more and more efficient at catching non-filers. If you have gotten away with not filing a tax return in the past, don’t expect to in the future. Even if you missed the past few years, it is in your best interest to file those returns because the IRS [...]

Philadelphia proposes tax amnesty program in order to recoup back taxes owed by taxpayers. The program will be voted on by the city council sometime next week.

The Oregon State legislature approved SB 880, on 6/29/09 that provides tax amnesty for state taxpayers and businesses with back taxes stemming from 2007 or later. Taxpayers who need to file or amend a tax return may complete and send in an application before the November 19th deadline (it started October 1st, 2009) in order to abate or remove penalties. Moreover, those who come forward will also benefit because the total interest amount due will be cut in half. The Oregon State Department of Revenue (ODR) states as well unfiled taxes return or tax returns that need to be amended must be filed before 1/19/2010.

For the estimated 10 million Americans who requested a tax filing extension with the IRS or their State for the typical April 15th filing deadline, realize that this extension was only good for 6 months or until October 15th, 2009. As you probably know, you had to submit an estimated payment with this extension (if you are self-employed or don’t work for a company) because any filing extension is not an extension to pay but an extension to file. Essentially, an extension would have prevented a taxpayer from incurring any late filing penalties with the State or Internal Revenue Service. For any amount owed though, interest accrued for the amount owed for the last 6 months.