Christian Posted April 12, 2016 Report Posted April 12, 2016 A couple who have not filed a return since 2009 came in this year. I asked for their 2012 and 2015 information with the filing deadline at hand. They owe somewhat over $3000 for 2012. In preparing his 2015 return I noted a massive increase in the husband's withholding. This produced a refund in excess of $1,000 for the couple. Curious as to why he increased his withholding in 2015 I called the husband who advised he got a letter from the IRS advising he needed to increase his withholding which he , of course, did. The Service clearly saw he was under withheld. This being so why have they not insisted these unfilled returns be filed and taxes and penalties imposed? Any thoughts on this will be appreciated. Quote
schirallicpa Posted April 13, 2016 Report Posted April 13, 2016 it's like the fox telling you to close the barn door............. Quote
Roberts Posted April 13, 2016 Report Posted April 13, 2016 We've all met people who haven't filed for MANY years and should have been. I think we'd be shocked how many people don't file. The IRS only has so much money and they can't police everyone so they take their best guesses or pick off the low hanging fruit. Quote
schirallicpa Posted April 13, 2016 Report Posted April 13, 2016 well - if they are only W2 people, and have refunds, the IRS is happy to keep their money. Maybe the IRS thought they were getting a little tight on funds, and sent out notices to such non-filers to up their pot a little. 1 Quote
JohnH Posted April 13, 2016 Report Posted April 13, 2016 While we are thinking about that issue, can someone explain the logic behind the following article to me? I would swear I thought it was illegal to "share" someone's social security number. Or maybe that only applies to legal citizens?... http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2016/04/13/irs-admits-it-encourages-illegals-to-steal-social-security-numbers-for-taxes/#3304b59d237a 1 Quote
Christian Posted April 13, 2016 Author Report Posted April 13, 2016 I see youall are as much perplexed as me. Low hanging fruit? It cannot get any more low hanging than a married couple with only three W-2s and a combined income approaching $100,000. A simple case of under withholding and since someone at the Service picked up on it a simple review to check their filing record of which since 2009 there was none . Quote
Catherine Posted April 13, 2016 Report Posted April 13, 2016 2 hours ago, JohnH said: While we are thinking about that issue, can someone explain the logic behind the following article to me? I would swear I thought it was illegal to "share" someone's social security number. Or maybe that only applies to legal citizens?... http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2016/04/13/irs-admits-it-encourages-illegals-to-steal-social-security-numbers-for-taxes/#3304b59d237a Of COURSE it's illegal. The IRS just says it doesn't care about illegal if funds are coming IN under those fake ssn's, and don't see that they lose with all the fraudulent refunds that go back OUT under those fake ssn's. (Next snarky comment redacted as it was crossing the line into politics. You can extrapolate for yourself.) Quote
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