# I didnt file a tax return in 2003. Should I now, and what if I dont?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 19, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692 "2010-08-19T01:55:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/1 "2010-08-19T01:55:45Z")
long story short, I was a slacker in the early 2000’s. I didn’t file a return for year 2003.
There was nothing complex about my return at that time. It was just a 1040EZ at that time. For 2003, I made around $38,000 and would have gotten a few hundred back as a refund.
Do I need to worry about this? I’ve never been contacted about it and at this point i’m thinking the government came out ahead because I forfeited a refund.
Is this gonna come back and bite me, or should I just let it go?
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### Author:  [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/2 "2010-08-19T02:33:38Z")
I’m far from an expert, but having been a slacker myself, I’ve managed to figure some things out. I believe that you only get three years to claim your refund, and that all penalties are assessed as a percentage of the amount you owe. So, they won’t give you anything, and you don’t owe them anything. Doesn’t seem like there’s any harm in filing, and at least you won’t have to worry that they might cause trouble over it. But they would send polite notices about it before they really cause trouble.
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/3 "2010-08-19T02:33:56Z")
> [@](#):
>
> A long-standing practice of the IRS has been not to recommend criminal prosecution of individuals for failure to file tax returns, provided they voluntarily file, or make arrangements to file, before being notified they are under criminal investigation. The taxpayer must make an honest effort to file a correct return and have income from legal sources. A letter from the IRS concerning taxes is not a notice that a taxpayer is under criminal investigation.
>
> The IRS helps to get people back into the system as part of its long-term plan to improve voluntary tax compliance. The IRS wants to get people back into the system, not prosecute ordinary people who made a mistake. However, flagrant cases involving criminal violations of tax laws will continue to be investigated.
[http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=122721,00.html](http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=122721,00.html)
> [@](#):
>
> It’s important to understand the ramifications of not filing a past due return and the steps that the IRS will take. Taxpayers who don’t file a past due return or contact the IRS are subject to the following:
>
> [ul]
> [li] Penalties and Interest will be assessed and will increase the amount of tax due.[/li][li] The IRS will file a substitute return for you. But this return is based only on information the IRS has from other sources. Thus, if the IRS prepares this substitute return, it will not include any additional exemptions or expenses you may be entitled to and may overstate your real tax liability.[/li][li] Once the tax is assessed the IRS will start the collection process, which can include placing a levy on wages or bank accounts or filing a [federal tax lien](http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=108339,00.html) against your property.[/li][li] Even if the IRS has already filed a substitute return, it still makes sense for you to [file your own return](http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=108327,00.html) to make sure you take advantage of all the exemptions, credits, and deductions you are allowed. The IRS will generally adjust your account to reflect the correct figures.[/li][/ul]
[http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=108330,00.html](http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=108330,00.html)
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/4 "2010-08-19T02:34:28Z")
You have lost any claim to that refund. Ever.
Next- unless you have been Self-employed, a criminal or a member of a tax-protestor movement, you are \*likely \*OK. IANAL, but my Bro is an Enrolled Agent who worked for the IRS for 20 years.
However, next year get your taxes done by a Pro (that means Enrolled Agent or CPA) and tell them about it. Get their professional advice.
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### Author:  [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/5 "2010-08-19T02:45:20Z")
I was recently contacted by the IRS for what is alleged to be a previously unclaimed income source (I changed employers in the first week of January 2007). They say I owe them a few hundred dollars for unclaimed income. My previous employer, despite promises, has yet to actually provide documentation, but I suspect it’s because of accrued vacation payouts or something.
I’m just going to give the devil his due… Fighting the IRS is to be avoided at all costs.
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### Author:  [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/6 "2010-08-19T02:51:27Z")
This is one of things where bad things could happen as a technical matter based on how the law works, but as a practical matter based on how the world works, it’s very very likely that absolutely nothing bad will happen and you have nothing to worry about.
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### Author:  [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/7 "2010-08-19T03:00:17Z")
Good news: The IRS has a [3 year deadline](http://taxes.about.com/od/backtaxes/qt/statute_limits.htm) to audit you. The bad news, you have only 3 years to be able to claim a a tax refund.
The IRS also has 10 years in order to collect back taxes. Since you don’t really owe taxes (you simply didn’t file), you don’t have to worry about this. There is a penalty for failing to file, but again, this is based upon taxes owed. You don’t owe taxes, you don’t really have a penalty.
You could be charged criminally with failing to file, but it appears that the statue of limitations on that is six years.
So, you’re free and clear. You’ve committed a heinous crime, yet got away scott free. You have thumbed your nose at the man and he can’t touch you. You lived life on the dangerous edge and lived to tell about it.
I’m impressed. The closest I’ve ever come to a life a crime was pulling off that tag on the bottom of the mattress.
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### Author:  [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/8 "2010-08-19T03:25:07Z")
I was a slacker in '97 & '98, same situation, EZ, they owed me. Never heard a word from them. See what **qazwart** said. Oh, and welcome to the Heinous Criminals who got off Scott Free Club…
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### Author:  [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/9 "2010-08-19T03:40:51Z")
> [@Quintas](#):
>
> long story short, I was a slacker in the early 2000’s. I didn’t file a return for year 2003.
>
> There was nothing complex about my return at that time. It was just a 1040EZ at that time. For 2003, I made around $38,000 and would have gotten a few hundred back as a refund.
>
> Do I need to worry about this? I’ve never been contacted about it and at this point i’m thinking the government came out ahead because I forfeited a refund.
>
> Is this gonna come back and bite me, or should I just let it go?
Having done a similar thing in the 80s, I would say, file it. What happened was that I missed one year, during which I was owed a refund. Several years later, the IRS thought I had not filed, somehow, for several years in a row, and I had to spend a lot of money on an accountant to prove that I had. Except, for that one year, I hadn’t. So the IRS calculated my taxes, and of course they decided I owed them. So then I allegedly owed them back taxes, plus penalties for not filing, plus interest. So I had to do it years later, without the benefit of all the records that would have helped me get a refund at the time. I had to do a lot of reconstructing.
I still didn’t end up owing any money, but it was a HASSLE. Then I had to argue with the IRS who were trying to say that okay, I didn’t have a tax liability that year but I still owed them THE INTEREST? And it would have looked a lot better for me if I could have proved I’d paid religiously every year–that one year missed was some kind of a red flag to the IRS, or something.
Then I had trouble for the next several years–it was always something. I really think they were after me. They would say I didn’t file this form (which I did), or I made a math error (yeah, guilty) until finally about mid-90s I realized I was just going to have to hand over all my records to an accountant every year and let him sort it out.
These were not ever EZ returns, though. They had rental income, royalties, home interest deductions, stock & bond income, home office deductions…lots of room for error there. My accountant may not get all the deductions I could put in but at least he doesn’t make math booboos.
Oh yeah, and while the IRS has only three years to audit your return, if they find something wrong–and in a complicated return, they can probably find some little something–then they can go back further.
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### Author:  [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/10 "2010-08-19T04:19:14Z")
I didn’t file ever until 1983. Since I started working in 1965, that represents a significant level of delinquency. I called up, and asked. They didn’t believe it happened, since I was employed by the Federal Government for quite a bit of that time. But, eventually they admitted that somehow they had never heard of me. They did have back W2’s for seven years, and had checked and found that I was not guilty of evasion of tax, merely failure to file.
So, about three months later, I got a check for about 7500 bucks, and a stern letter on IRS Department of Enforcement, telling me not to do that ever again.
So, last year, I filed electronically, and never noticed that nothing happened about it. This time I called up, and the nice lady who checked for me said I should just file again, probably better to do it on paper. She sent me the forms, and sent them in, I guess about June of this year. I got a complete refund, including IRS’s correction and adjustment for a deduction I had not know about. Extra 150 bucks.
You are not in trouble. All the penalties are based on percentages of what you owe, and interest on that amount. You owe nothing, you have committed no fraud. It is technically a federal misdemeanor, but it ain’t likely you will be charged for something that costs you less than the amount they owe you if they win.
Tris
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### Author:  [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/11 "2010-08-19T04:21:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> You have lost any claim to that refund. Ever.
i’m not worried about that at all.
The IRS came out ahead that year and i’m fine with letting that be. I’m concerned that there may be some type of fine for not filing that I may be unaware of. And i’m nervous about actually calling the IRS and bringing it to their attention.
I dont want to be 50 years old and get a notice that I owe some ungodly fine due to an unfiled return when I was 29.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/12 "2010-08-19T04:30:45Z")
> [@qazwart](#):
>
> Good news: The IRS has a [3 year deadline](http://taxes.about.com/od/backtaxes/qt/statute_limits.htm) to audit you. The bad news, you have only 3 years to be able to claim a a tax refund.
>
> You could be charged criminally with failing to file, but it appears that the statue of limitations on that is six years..
1. No, it’s three years from the date of filing. No filing, thus the Statue of Limitations has not started.
2. Not true.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/13 "2010-08-19T04:37:53Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#):
>
> I didn’t file ever until 1983. Since I started working in 1965, that represents a significant level of delinquency. I called up, and asked. They didn’t believe it happened, since I was employed by the Federal Government for quite a bit of that time. But, eventually they admitted that somehow they had never heard of me. They did have back W2’s for seven years, and had checked and found that I was not guilty of evasion of tax, merely failure to file.
>
> So, about three months later, I got a check for about 7500 bucks, and a stern letter on IRS Department of Enforcement, telling me not to do that ever again.
> You are not in trouble. All the penalties are based on percentages of what you owe, and interest on that amount. You owe nothing, you have committed no fraud.
There is no such thing as “the IRS Department of Enforcement”, next, no matter what, you can’t get a refund for a return more than 3 years old.
The next part is true, but the IRS could decide to file a Substitute for Return, with no deductions, and if there was Self Employment income, they could add in a estimate figure for that. \*\*This is unlikely mind you. \*\*Now, yes, after a while, the OP would be able to explain it all, but it would be nasty for a while. As **Hilarity N. Suze** sez- a hassle.
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### Author:  [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/14 "2010-08-19T04:40:54Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#):
>
> You are not in trouble. All the penalties are based on percentages of what you owe, and interest on that amount. You owe nothing, you have committed no fraud. It is technically a federal misdemeanor, but it ain’t likely you will be charged for something that costs you less than the amount they owe you if they win.
>
> Tris
I have my W-2’s from that year.
Is the general consensus that I should file even though I’m obviously not gonna get my refund or owe them, or that I should forget it and keep myself outta their radar?
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### Author:  [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/15 "2010-08-19T05:01:28Z")
> [@Quintas](#):
>
> I have my W-2’s from that year.
>
> Is the general consensus that I should file even though I’m obviously not gonna get my refund or owe them, or that I should forget it and keep myself outta their radar?
I’m never going to bring mine to their attention. You do as you think best. 😉
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/16 "2010-08-19T05:17:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> 1. No, it’s three years from the date of filing. No filing, thus the **Statue of Limitations** has not started.
Is she like the [Statue of Justice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Justice), only instead of scales and a sword, it’s a whip and handcuffs?
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### Author:  [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/17 "2010-08-19T16:54:29Z")
> [@GiantRat](#):
>
> I was recently contacted by the IRS for what is alleged to be a previously unclaimed income source (I changed employers in the first week of January 2007). They say I owe them a few hundred dollars for unclaimed income. My previous employer, despite promises, has yet to actually provide documentation, but I suspect it’s because of accrued vacation payouts or something.
>
> I’m just going to give the devil his due… Fighting the IRS is to be avoided at all costs.
The IRS loves people with that attitude. In fact, fighting the IRS is quite easy - if you know what you’re doing, or know to get someone on your side - and it is often to your benefit.
I can’t tell you how many clients come to me with a letter like yours asking for payment of a few hundred. By the time we’re done, the IRS owes them money (or at least, less). And their cost to me is maybe a couple hundred dollars. My record in this regard: demand for $30,000 in additional tax turned into a refund for $80. I did one yesterday that turned a demand for $930 into only $170 owed.
It’s not that the IRS is dishonest about these demands, just that they don’t know all of the information. They expect you to protect your own interest.
Seriously… get the documentation and fight it if you can. Don’t just roll over.
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### Author:  [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/18 "2010-08-19T17:01:38Z")
> [@Quintas](#):
>
> I have my W-2’s from that year.
>
> Is the general consensus that I should file even though I’m obviously not gonna get my refund or owe them, or that I should forget it and keep myself outta their radar?
If you’re confident that they owe you money, it’s fine to sit on it and do nothing. Any fines, penalties, etc. will be based on you owing them money.
Of course, knowing that they owe you money pretty much requires doing the return. And, having done the return, you might as well mail it in.
I guess you can count that as one vote for each option? 🙂
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/19 "2010-08-20T01:43:14Z")
> [@Quintas](#):
>
> I have my W-2’s from that year.
>
> Is the general consensus that I should file even though I’m obviously not gonna get my refund or owe them, or that I should forget it and keep myself outta their radar?
Oh, you do have the W-2’s? Then file, by all means. This will not “get you on their radar”.
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### Author:  [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-file-a-tax-return-in-2003-should-i-now-and-what-if-i-dont/550692/20 "2010-08-20T04:23:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> 1. No, it’s three years from the date of filing. No filing, thus the Statue of Limitations has not started.
They can also go back forever if they suspect fraud. So if for some reason the IRS thinks you are defrauding them, they might go back to 2003, find you didn’t file a return, and add that to your list of crimes against humanity. So as long as this is over your head, I’d advise against performing tax fraud.
Its a very low risk anything at all will happen. But it probably doesn’t hurt to file them if you don’t owe anything either.
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