You get in trouble for not filing taxes immediately after the April deadline (or October extension) passes if you owe money, with penalties accruing monthly. The Failure to File Penalty is 5% of unpaid taxes per month (up to 25%). If more than 60 days late, penalties can reach a minimum of $510 or 100% of the unpaid tax.
See Topic no. 202 for information about payment options. If you owe tax and don't file on time (with extensions), there's also a penalty for not filing on time. The failure-to-file penalty is usually five percent of the tax owed for each month, or part of a month, that your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%.
You cannot go any number of years without filing taxes if you meet the IRS filing requirements. Unfiled tax returns stay open indefinitely, and the IRS can take action at any time—whether the return is three, five, or ten years old.
If you file more than 60 days after the due date, the minimum penalty is $525 (for tax returns required to be filed in 2026) or 100% of your unpaid tax, whichever is less.
There is no penalty for failure to file if you are due a refund. However, you cannot obtain a refund without filing a tax return. If you wait too long to file, you may risk losing the refund altogether.
Not reporting all of your income is an easy-to-avoid red flag that can lead to an audit. Taking excessive business tax deductions and mixing business and personal expenses can lead to an audit. The IRS mostly audits tax returns of those earning more than $200,000 and corporations with more than $10 million in assets.
If penalties and interest aren't motivating enough and you outright refuse to file taxes, the IRS can enforce tax liens against your property or even pursue civil or criminal litigation against you until you pay. The severity of your refusal will determine the path the IRS will take.
Criminal matters can have serious consequences, including fines and imprisonment. The IRS may initiate criminal proceedings if they suspect a taxpayer has willfully committed tax fraud or tax evasion. This may involve falsifying information on federal tax returns, hiding income, or claiming false deductions.
For example, a failure to file can come with up to one year imprisonment and a monetary penalty of $100,000, while an attempt to evade taxes can come with up to five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
However, while the IRS can go back to any unfiled tax return, they generally don't try to enforce filing requirements for returns older than six years. The only exceptions might be if they: Find signs of fraudulent or illegal behavior. Need the information to inform returns for later tax years.
You (or your tax pro) will meet with the IRS agent at an IRS office. The IRS usually starts these audits within a year after you file the return, and wraps them up within three to six months.
The law requires trades and businesses report cash payments of more than $10,000 to the federal government by filing IRS/FinCEN Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business PDF. Transactions requiring Form 8300 include, but are not limited to: Escrow arrangement contributions.
Key Takeaways
If a business intentionally disregards the requirement to provide a correct Form 1099-NEC or Form 1099-MISC, it's subject to a minimum penalty of $660 per form (tax year 2025) or 10% of the income reported on the form, with no maximum.
The most immediate consequence of missing the extension deadline is the failure-to-file penalty. This penalty is typically 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that the tax return is late, up to a maximum of 25%.
If you didn't pay enough tax throughout the year, either through withholding or by making estimated tax payments, you may have to pay a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax.
Sound reasons, if established, include: