# At what point does not paying your taxes = go to jail?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-does-not-paying-your-taxes-go-to-jail/582380>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 18, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-does-not-paying-your-taxes-go-to-jail/582380 "2011-05-18T23:21:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-does-not-paying-your-taxes-go-to-jail/582380/21 "2011-05-20T20:58:47Z")

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> [@gazpacho](#):
>
> This seems tricky to get away with. You have to give your employees a w2 form. This same information is also sent to the IRS. Your employees will notice if you don’t have the correct income on the W2. It seems to me you either have to bring your employees in on the scheme or hope the FICA people don’t talk to the income tax people.

The W-2 is given in the next year later, in January. By that time, companies in this shape have usually gone under (so the employees probably don’t get a W-2 at all).

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