Don’t forget to file: Avoiding an audit

If you haven’t done your taxes yet, no problem. There’s still plenty of time. If you are planning not to pay your taxes, or not to file at all, that is a problem that, worst case scenario, could see you doing time in a federal pen.

Most federal workers are paid via tax dollars, so ordinary taxpayers are not amused when they read a rare story about a civil servant dodging taxes. So do feds, for that matter, who pay their fair share on time. And while most people, both feds and everybody else, pay their taxes on time or are on payment plans with the IRS, the big problem comes when non-filers get caught. Many of us know people who haven’t filed, even if we don’t actually realize it. According to the most recent data the IRS has identified 1.6 million non-filers. So what happens if you or a friend are one of them? And what should you be aware of during the filing season?

We also wanted to sort out the many scams people use posing as IRS agents or revenue officers. The IRS doesn’t call or email you asking for back taxes. You may hear from them but it will be in the form of a revenue officer, with credentials.

To get some answers to tax-time questions, including those you should be considering, I asked D.C. area Tom O’Rourke to join me today at 10 a.m. EDT on our Your Turn radio show. Tom worked for the IRS for many years before going into private practice.