# Could you a felon? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 4, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348 "2017-03-04T00:06:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/race_to_the_bottom)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/1 "2017-03-04T00:06:58Z")
Is there a felony hiding in almost all tax returns? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/2 "2017-03-04T00:08:59Z")
I think you forgot to verb that sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/3 "2017-03-04T00:21:15Z")
Maybe I could a felon, if she asked nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/4 "2017-03-04T00:21:57Z")
Yes, i could a felon, but i caught the railing, but yes i would a felon down the stairs. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/5 "2017-03-04T00:23:21Z")
Once more, with felon. I’ve lost that loving felon. etc.,etc. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/6 "2017-03-04T00:24:37Z")
If life hands you a felon, make felonade. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/7 "2017-03-04T00:57:16Z")
Could you a felon? Would you a felon? On a rail or in a jail? With a ram or on the lam? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/8 "2017-03-04T00:59:27Z")
Most tax returns are fairly simple. I’d say that math errors might be common, but the IRS has been correcting those for the last few years. So, I’d say that the vast majority of tax returns contain no felonies. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/9 "2017-03-04T01:11:42Z")
I’d say Yllaria felon his sword to bring us that answer. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/10 "2017-03-04T01:15:45Z")
I shouted my loudest, but all of my words felon deaf ears. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/11 "2017-03-04T01:32:58Z")
I once felon someone, nearly killed him. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/12 "2017-03-04T01:56:02Z")
I’ll repeat the honor code my father taught me: “Don’t cheat. If it’s small it’s not worth the effort, and if it’s big you’ll be caught.” ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/13 "2017-03-04T02:01:59Z")
It hasn’t been possible for anyone, let alone a felon, to hide in my tax return since I started doing them online about 14 years ago, but before then, there was an awful lot of paper, and I kept it in a filing cabinet. I suppose someone could have hidden in it. Not to my knowledge, though. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/14 "2017-03-04T02:28:50Z")
When I was little my father taught me how to keep a five-column ledger. When I was a little older my father taught me how to keep two five-column ledgers. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/15 "2017-03-04T02:30:56Z")
Which raises the question: Just how much “creativity” on a tax return rises to the level of a (Federal) felony? As stated above, simple math errors don’t. Rounded numbers? Deducting a regular monthly expense for which you happened to lose June’s invoice but have the other 11? Inventing a totally fake deductible expense? Inventing a totally fake dependent? Ignoring most of your under-the-table income? Filing somebody else’s return with made-up numbers to capture their refund? Where is the line? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/16 "2017-03-04T02:36:48Z")
Caged Heat (1983)…? ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/17 "2017-03-04T03:07:37Z")
I suspect it would be fairly hard to find a tax felony that didn’t require intent so the idea that you could be an accidental tax felon is improbable. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/18 "2017-03-04T04:19:32Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > It hasn’t been possible for anyone, let alone a felon, to hide in my tax return since I started doing them online about 14 years ago, but before then, there was an awful lot of paper, and I kept it in a filing cabinet. I suppose someone could have hidden in it. Not to my knowledge, though. Was I not supposed to make paper mache sculptures with my w-2s, 1099s, 1040s, etc. after filing? I used it to work through my frustrations…but I guess a felon could hide among them - and I wouldn’t want that. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/19 "2017-03-04T06:31:11Z")
[Very felon](https://youtu.be/ADKfrKhTvlI) ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348/20 "2017-03-04T08:39:34Z")
There are probably some hiding in tax returns. A large percentage is probably hiding in property insurance claims as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-a-felon/781348.md?page=2)