what excuse is good to file a late tax return

With the April xv tax deadline less than a month away, information technology'southward time to file – or, for many people, time to detect reasons for not filing. Believe it or not, the percentage of the taxpaying population who files late or doesn't file at all is substantial. According to a 2009 CNN report, ten million people were expected to file their 2008 tax returns late. Given such a loftier number of belatedly filers, information technology might seem like no large deal to file a few months (or even a few years) after the required submission date. And certain enough, endless reasons and excuses are trotted out each year to justify the decision to file late or non file at all. All the same, non all of these excuses are useful if and when you are confronted by the IRS. Indeed, some excuses accept no validity whatsoever with the authorities, such that using them could actually land you in jail or stick you lot with hefty penalties. Beneath, nosotros'll review 12 of the most pop and oftentimes used reasons for filing tardily and not filing – and whether the excuse in question holds whatever weight with the IRS.

Laziness

(Evil Erin)

Sheer laziness is a mutual reason for belatedly or not-filing, and a elementary assessment of human nature makes it quite articulate why. Dissimilar motorcar payments or utilities (which trigger immediate consequences for falling behind), at that place are few if any explicit reminders to pay your income taxes. Put another way, April 15th tin can – and often does – pass without any visible friction or alarm if you neglected to file a return. The IRS does not send notices or agents to your abode in the effect that yous do not file. Consequently, it is quite piece of cake for a busy or careless person to put filing a render on the dorsum burner amidst other responsibilities with more immediate consequences. Of course, this is non at all acceptable to the IRS. While you volition not be discovered right away, make no mistake that you are existence tracked in a backlog that someone will eventually see and investigate.

Forgetfulness

(Zoutedrop)

A similar but separate reason for filing late or not at all is forgetfulness. Whereas laziness involves being aware of the need to file and simply neglecting to put in the effort, forgetfulness is when someone "would have" filed, merely claims that information technology just slipped their mind. TaxFables.com tells the story of Juan Ruiz, an owner of iii Mexican restaurants who, "…explained that after his preparer gave him the return, he put it in his briefcase and and so — merely forgot information technology." Plausible as such an excuse may sound, TaxFables concludes by stating, "…if you forget, don't wait the IRS to forgive." In curt, forgetfulness is non a valid or accepted reason for filing belatedly or not filing at all.

Confusion

(jakeliefer)

Another frequently stated excuse for not filing or filing late is defoliation about the filing process. If yous are an independent contractor, for case, filing a taxation return is significantly more complicated than filing every bit an employee. You are responsible for reporting income from the various people who pay you, challenge any deductions you feel you are justified in taking and (in virtually cases) doing all of this four times a twelvemonth, rather than just once past April 15. Admittedly, the tax lawmaking can be quite disruptive and difficult to bargain with. The Tax Foundation, for example, finds the net cost of tax compliance to individuals and businesses to be, "…roughly $275 billion and ascension." Once more, all the same, confusion is no excuse for not filing or filing late as far every bit the IRS is concerned. It is expected that y'all will either inquiry how to properly file or hire a professional who can practice so on your behalf.

Death or Serious Illness of Taxpayer or Immediate Family

(tahitianlime)

It is quite understandable to delay the filing of a taxation return for a death in one'southward immediate family. Amid the chaos and grieving that inevitably follows, the IRS grants some leniency in recognizing this as a legitimate reason for filing belatedly. The same applies to serious illnesses, especially those contracted by the taxpayer themselves. If you have a documented medical reason for being unable to file a return, the IRS will typically exempt y'all from fines or penalties connected to the late filing. That beingness said, the reason must be valid – do not do what Douglas D. Kemmerer did (according to TaxFables.com) and blame non filing ten years of returns on a convoluted disease like "tax phobia."

Invalid Advice From a "Competent" Professional person

(Dominic's Pics)

Another oft-cited reason for not filing or for filing belatedly is that you were advised toward that form of action by a professional person, such as a tax preparer or attorney. Within certain limits, this is an alibi that the IRS volition have. Don't translate this too liberally, however. The IRS will not let you off the hook because your smart uncle advised that you lot did not have to file. Rather, they will investigate whether the person who gave you wrong advice was a competent or licensed professional. Beyond that, they will likely investigate why a competent or licensed professional told you not to file a return when the law ultimately required yous to.

Conventionalities That Paying Income Taxes is Voluntary

(respres)

A long line of scam artists have persisted in spreading the myth that paying income taxes is voluntary or even a violation of Ramble rights. TaxGuru.org offers a helpful rebuttal of these myths, including the notion that money is not income considering it isn't backed by gold and that income taxes only apply to federal government employees. Simply put, these ideas are incorrect. As TaxGuru points out, people accept done serious jail time for declining to voluntarily pay their income taxes or file returns. While the IRS does its all-time to deter those who spread these myths, they display no leniency to those who fall for them, either. Attempts to justify late or not-filing using whatever of them tin can land you lot an, "…immediate $10,000 fine" plus whatever penalties already applied to your misdeeds, co-ordinate to TaxGuru.org.

Agile Duty Military Service

(Beverly & Pack)

Those who are deployed internationally in connection with active duty military service are eligible for extensions on filing their income tax returns. As eHow.com explains, "…if you were active in a gainsay zone, yous are non required to submit whatsoever additional forms because the Section of Defense shares the names and social security numbers of service members who are deployed." If in doubt, nevertheless, it never hurts to check to make sure that this exemption applies to yous.

Destruction of Records

(Stephancanada01)

The IRS typically grants leniency to taxpayers who can show that their tax or financial records were destroyed at the time they were needed to prepare their return. That is, if your house burns down in a tragic fire and takes your filing cabinet with it, you wont go to jail or pay penalties for not filing. That existence said, people have been caught "staging" the devastation of their records to get out of paying earlier. If you try to claim this as an alibi, be prepared for the possibility that the IRS will want to confirm whether your records were destroyed accidentally or coincidentally, rather than intentionally. Police reports, photographs, and eye-witness testimony may all exist helpful in demonstrating that the devastation was non acquired by you.

Ignorance

(Orin Zebest)

Every year, belatedly and non-filers claim ignorance of one class or another every bit the reason for their criminality. Notwithstanding, ignorance of the law does not alibi anyone from responsibility for complying with information technology. Bankrate.com discusses several common excuses falling under the ignorance imprint, including:

• "I was agape to do it wrong, so I just kept gathering data and lost track of fourth dimension."
• "My husband refused to file, then I didn't know what to do."
• "I was boozer and totally out of information technology for the terminal few years. Hey, I was living on the streets. Do yous think I cared about taxes?"

Needless to say, none of these excuses hold any weight with the IRS whatsoever. Every bit a sovereign citizen, information technology is causeless that you lot will have responsibility for understanding your taxation obligations and reporting them in a timely and lawful manner.

Unavailability of IRS Help

(cliff1066™)

If you lot can demonstrate that the IRS was not available to assist y'all in filing your return in a timely and lawful manner, this is a recognized and accustomed excuse for late filing. Again – whether you can, in practice, escape penalization using this alibi depends on the specifics of what happened. In all likelihood, you volition not be able to avoid punishment because y'all were put on hold for a long time or didn't get to speak with the first IRS assistant you called. Rather, it volition need to be articulate that yous made an active and reasonable endeavour to seek help and despite this, did non receive it. Be sure to document the times and dates of any attempted and failed correspondence with the IRS, including who yous were attempting to reach and by what ways (phone, e-mail, snail postal service, etc.)

Incarceration

(Corey Leopold)

While we don't suspect many of our readers will exist incarcerated anytime soon, it does serve as a valid excuse for filing late or not filing, because you either did non have access to your fiscal records or became incarcerated tardily in the filing flavour. Then once again, most prisoners also exercise not have any income to written report in the first place, so perhaps it's best to avoid jail altogether and simply file on time.

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Source: https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/taxes-101/11-most-popular-reasons-for-filing-late-or-not-filing-at-all-2713/

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