July 10, 2020
Manager, Chris Cicalese, CPA, MSTFP, contributed to the article, “What Happens If You Don’t File Taxes?” on CentSai.com. The article discusses the real repercussions of choosing not to file your taxes.
Financial confession time: There was one year when I didn’t file my taxes.
I know that’s particularly horrendous for a personal finance writer to admit, but it’s the truth. It happened a full two years before I had my come-to-Jesus moment about money.
At the time, I was waiting tables and working an unpaid internship. I made all my money in cash tips, and I was saving for a cross-country move. I was convinced I didn’t have the money for taxes. To be honest, I didn’t really know how taxes work, and I thought that I would owe the government a big check. As a waitress making less than $25,000, the thought of handing over my hard-earned money felt depressing.
I hoped the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wouldn’t care about me. After all, I was a small fish in a big pond. No one would really care if I failed to file, right? Unfortunately, I was very, very wrong.
Follow Chris on Twitter at @AthleteCPA. Follow CentSai on Twitter at @CentSai for more important personal finance lessons. Click here to continue reading the full article →
