Do you go to jail for tax evasion?

Or do you just pay fines?

Jail IS possible. The IRS generally would rather that you just pay your due but in serious cases they may decide to prosecute. Jail and fines (as well as whatever tax was due, plus penalties and interest) are certainly an option. It's up to the court to decide what the punishment will be, not the IRS, if you are prosecuted.

Imprisonment is possible. I know of a couple of cases where folks spent a couple of years behind bars for tax evasion and fraud.

Both are possible!!!

You can. Sooner or later, they will catch up with you. That is how Al Capone got put away.

You can go to jail for tax "evasion", plus you have to pay the taxes you owe, criminal fines, interest and penalties. If you filed your taxes (with no fraud or deliberate misstatements) but have not paid them, the IRS will garnish your wages, seize your bank accounts, investment accounts, etc. until they get the taxes, penalties, and interest you will owe. If you don't pay employment taxes then they will toss you in jail, seize your house, garnish your prison wages, and wages once you are released.

No you go to a federal prison. And they make you pay back what you owe I think.

Yes. That's what they got Al Capone on.

Sometimes. Usually you just pay fines in addition to what you owe, and/or have your assets seized, but you can be jailed also.

If you haven't been filing returns, you can't be prosecuted to tax evasion so long as you get the returns on file before any criminal charges are brought. If you have been cheating on your taxes, you can file corrected amendments and avoid criminal prosecution by filing the amendments before any criminal charges are brought.

If the IRS has been after you, you may not have any advance notice of their intent to file criminal charges, so you had better get your xxxx together in a hurry.

It depends on whether or not the IRS can show criminal intent or intent. There is a couple in New Hampshire who have refused to pay their income taxes because they claim income taxes are illegal. There is a theory that because the Income tax amendment was not ratified, it is unconstitutional and cannot be collected (I think that's what it is --from memory). Anyway, the IRS has seized their assets and has tried to take over the house. The couple has refused to give the house up and will not leave it. The IRS agents have surrounded the house and have cut off the power to the house (hee, hee, hee-- they have solar and wind power and are self sufficient so they don't miss the power being shut off). The couple gave a news conference and claims that they will die before they leave their house. Well, I wish them luck and I wish the citizens of the USA would back these people up by all of us refusing to pay our taxes until the taxes are collected from 12-20 million illegal aliens and until the laws are enforced against the companies that hire, harbor and help the illegal aliens. Power to these two US Citizens! Down with the IRS until the IRS enforces the laws against the illegal aliens. The illegal aliens are costing U S Citizens billions of dollars annually and are much more of a problem to us than two citizens who deserve to have their home. I kind of figure the IRS will slaughter these two people just like they did the branch dividians while Elvira Arellano (the illegal immigrant fugitive from justice in Chicago who has twice been deported) can stay holed up in the Adelberto United Methodist Church that thumbs its nose at all our laws and gets to keep its tax exemption while doing it. The same goes for the Catholic Diocese that plans to aide and abett the illegal aliens -- the church is tax exempt and is committing treason and costing the taxpayers billions of dollars. Why isn't the IRS going after the lawbreaking churches? They should lose their tax exempt status.

There was a Newspaper in Illinois whose cheating accountant absconded with the tax payments and the owner hadn't checked on him (trust placed blindly). One day the IRS came in, locked her out, seized the building and all her assets and took everything away from her. The IRS will get what it wants, when it wants, right or wrong and it's next to impossible to fight them unless people are united.

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