So you believe you are free from the obligation of filing your taxes this year? There is absolutely NO excuse to not file income taxes! Maybe you did not remember, or maybe you were physically hindered from filing. Or perhaps you simply thought you would be able to go undetected. The Internal Revenue Service, however, does not actually care about why you didn't file. All they know is your taxes are now overdue, and you have just given them the green light to invade your life. Well, it's important to know precisely what will go down when you don't file.

It's vital to file IRS taxes to avoid federal income tax filing penalties. If you feel you will need it, get specialized income tax filing help. Otherwise, you will end up owing the IRS. You will be blown away by the IRS' penalty fees. Paying your taxes every April 15th is already hard enough. However, your debt to the IRS will be made even more ludicrous if you don't take advantage of federal income tax filing assistance.

Tax Filing Penalty Fees: You'll automatically have federal income tax filing penalty fees the moment the Internal Revenue Service finds out you have neglected to file. The penalty for Failure to File is five percent of your tax debt for every month, with a maximum of 25%. They will probably also make you pay a penalty for Failure to Pay, which is one percent of the tax debt every month. There isn't any maximum on the Failure to Pay penalty, so the longer you procrastinate, the larger your tax debt is.

Remember the Interest! As though you weren't drowning enough with penalties accruing, you also need to take the interest charges into account. The interest rate at this time is sitting at six percent of your debt for every year. The annual interest rate is actually much larger, though, as it's compounded daily on top of penalties. Therefore, if you owe $10,000 and 12 months go by, your total tax debt will actually be $15k. Allow three years to pass, and your debt is going to be about $35K. And that is simply from interest charges and penalty fees.

Jailhouse Rock: On top of that, the Internal Revenue Service is authorized to jail you for neglecting to file. The IRS holds the title as the biggest debt collector out there. They will get their money. You not filing, for whatever reason, shows the IRS that you couldn't care less. That serves no other purpose than to give them the OK to perform collections to the fullest extent of the law. In this case, you'll be doing time.

How to Stop It: The preferred way to steer clear of these predicaments is to file by the due date, every year. If you don't have the ability to afford to pay what you owe, consult with the IRS and come to a payment arrangement. It is much better than allowing the penalty fees and interest to add up due to your failure to file.

Have Penalties and Interest Already Started Piling Up? You could be eligible for a penalty fee abatement if your debt has already reached the point of no return due to interest and penalties, and you know the reason you didn't file was because of external factors (sudden unemployment, lost or stolen records, and so on). See your options to getting your situation taken care of by contacting a reliable tax expert. You may even be eligible for another alternative, if you aren't eligible for a penalty fee abatement, that may put you in a far better spot than what you are already in.

It's fairly simple to select the right tax filing help. To be certain you have the most qualified tax filing assistance provider, check that they hold an A Rating with the Better Business Bureau.