What shout I do about my taxes?

[LazurusLong]

+1 for TTH.

A former girlfriend took her taxes to HR Block before I met her.

She was a single mom, mortgage and 2nd mortgage (she got the house in the divorce along with the payments).

They did a 1040a! And charged her a lot of money for that.

I did 1040X forms for the previous 2 years that she had been using those asshats and she got a lot of money back and was very happy.

You couldn't PAY me to use them or another store front like them.

[FMaster]

It is obvious some did not comprehend my post.
Please forget I mentioned H&R Block.

I gave the link to NAEA for a very good reason but that was obviously missed and this thread turned into bashing H&R Block which was not my intention and does not help Traci

Some of the advice I've read on this thread is good advice and some of the advice in this thread will raise red flags to get yourself audited and into a world of hurt for years to come.

The Gist of It:
Traci, the simple act of submitting a return or beginning quarterly payments, will throw up a red flag in the IRS computer system and will possibly lead to an audit and assessed taxation for years going back to the last time you claimed yourself or some one else claimed you as a Dependant (parents, Head of Household).

In layman's terms...The IRS will want to know why you have not paid taxes for at least the last 3 years which could possibly extend as far back as to when you were 18. The IRS can and will SLAP you with assessed taxation and penalties for those years. Then the burden will fall upon you to prove you don't owe those taxes and penalties for the previous years.

Please seek advice from an Enrolled Agent and NOT a CPA or accountant!

[dallasrgb]

With all due respect to everyone who has posted extensive and admittedly valuable advice, I really take issue with the implication that you are somehow obligated to pay income taxes. The government threatens all of us with violence if we fail to give them a cut of our productivity. That's coercion and it's immoral. If you work in a cash business, the government has no reason to be involved in the transaction. You pay sales taxes and property taxes (through rent), and that pays for the local services you consume and need. Income taxes pay for bridges to nowhere, social security that you'll never see, socialized health insurance for poor and old people, and a stupid foreign policy that makes foreigners and now citizens hate us.

Buy gold and silver in quantities amounting to greater than $1000 in order to avoid sales taxes in the State of Texas and put it in a safety deposit box. In case you or anyone else wants to purchase silver or gold (no names, no government involvement), PM me and I can point you in the right direction. If you would like to trade your services for silver, PM and I would be happy to transact with you. Actually, I'd be ecstatic....

One more thing: owning a home isn't all it's cracked up to be. In addition to TrailBlazer's contribution about downside risk involved in the "investment" aspect of owning property, there's maintenance and normal wear-and-tear involved. By renting/leasing, the property owner is responsible for both the upkeep and the downside investment risk. Most businesses lease space in order to be able to concentrate on what they do best: providing a service or product. There are also tax implications, but that gets confusing and complicated.

Obviously, this isn't the "legal" advice. Let's face it, this isn't the place for "legal." If you want to be perfectly legal, move to Nevada and provide at one of the legal establishments.