An Overview of the I.R.S. Enforcement Process

What happens if you don’t file your tax return, or if you do file but don’t pay what your return says you owe?

You know there are consequences, but if you’re like most people, you haven’t much more than a vague idea of what they are or how they come about.

Samuel L. Braunstein and Carol F. Burger have written up a good, thorough, and very readable summary of this process for the latest edition of the American Bar Association’s ABA Journal.

The NWTRCC “Practical War Tax Resistance” pamphlet #2 (To File Or Not To File An Income Tax Return) will also be of interest to people thinking of refusing to file or refusing to pay.

The IRS has adjusted for inflation several of the numbers in its tax provisions for next year — this includes expanding tax brackets, bumping the standard deduction and personal exemption amounts, and, for the first time in 2007, increasing the amount of adjusted gross income you can earn and still qualify for the retirement savings tax credit. Depending on your filing status, you could have $500–$2,000 more AGI in 2007 and still qualify.