This conflict, these fears, are real for a lot of people Take a look at this authentic “Dear Taxpayer” letter sent by the I.R.S.:

We received a Form 1040, U. S. Individual Income Tax Return, for the above year from you, but it is not acceptable as your income tax return. A taxpayer’s return, which does not contain any infor­mation relating to the taxpayer’s income from which the tax can be computed, is not a return within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code or the regulations adopted by the Commissioner. The statutory requirements for filing and the criminal penalty for noncompliance are given on the back of this letter. This letter constitutes notice to you of the legal requirements concerning filing of income tax returns. Noncompliance may subject you to prosecution under Internal Revenue Code Section 7203, which is reproduced on the back of this letter. Blank Forms 1040 are enclosed for your convenience.

The Consequences

Since it’s pretty clear that the government won’t have much difficulty proving all four elements of a Section 7263 failure to file prosecution, it’s important to know exactly what consequences are in store for anyone who’s convicted. Potentially, there are two. One is bad enough. But the other one

— seriously misunderstood by most people can be devastating.

A “simple” Section 7203 failure to file violation can also lead to some­thing unknown and totally unexpected by the average person. I’m talking about tax evasion. I’m talking about a Section 7201 violation. I’m talking about a felony. more