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Filing Returns
I’m planning on not filing any returns whatsoever. According to 26 U.S. Code § 6401(a), I’m not a person who is a “government unit”, and according to 26 U.S. Code § 7701(a), I’m not engaged in a “trade or business”. Based on these two codes, I should not file a tax return. That is my understanding. So, I’m not going to file one, either for my business or for me personally. When the IRS sends me letters, I plan on responding with these codes. To me it appears to be pretty straightforward and simple. Am I thinking of this wrong?
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Hello Michael, Yes to some extent you are correct. However if you have filled out a W9 or W4 you have, under penalty of perjury, stated you are subject to federal income tax and by such admission you must file an income tax return. This is why the majority of high income tax case convictions are prosecuted as ” Willful failure to file” cases.
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Can you tell me where on the W9 is this admission? I’ve reviewed the Part II Certification section, and I see nothing regarding admitting being subject to tax…
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@missionsoft The title of the W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification – The word taxpayer is defined by 26 U.S. Code § 7701(a)(14) as any person subject to any internal revenue tax. When you sign a W-9 under penalty of perjury you are saying you are a taxpayer.
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Both the W9 and W4 have places to indicate either the company (mine is a c-corp), or the individual is exempt from withholding. I would assume that would BE an admission that the income is not subject to tax. Am I missing something?
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It appears on both the W9 and W4, there are methods to claim that the company or employee is exempt from withholding. I would assume that would NOT BE admitting that the income is taxable. This may still require filing an annual corporate/personal return, but it would be a zero-based return, nonetheless. Am I missing something?
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Kury, so I get it, the word “Taxpayer” in the title of form W-9, and the word “Employee” in the title of form W-4, is the issue, along with the definition of “U.S. Citizen” in the certification section. Since these forms almost always are required by an employer, or to do business or open a bank account, I believe the implicating words can be redefined in the certification section of the forms. Like there could be an added certification that indicates that I am NOT an “Employee”, as defined in 26 USC 3401(c), but I AM an employee as defined in the common meaning; that I am a hired worker. The same redefinition can be done on a W-9, with the word “Taxpayer”, and “U.S. Citizen” as well, can it not? In short, it seems these forms would be harmless to use, if the definition of “terms” were corrected in the certification section. Question: Is there a better way to handle this when the requestor asks for a W-9 or W-4? Are there alternate forms to use? We don’t want to simply refuse to complete these forms, since that could result in not being hired, or not being able to open a bank acct, or not doing business with a company…maybe this could be a topic for discussion on the next open session…
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