Don't Mess With Taxes

Has your tax filing frustration got you thinking about getting, shall we say, creative when you fill in your return? Don't. Even with the current chaos, the Internal Revenue Service still has ways to track down tax cheats. (Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich)

Tax Day is almost here, and millions of Americans are working on their 1040s.

Generally, late filers tend to owe taxes. They want to put off the inevitable for as long as possible.

Some of these still-to-file owing taxpayers are still searching for ways to trim this year’s tax bill. There are a few options available, such as making a tax-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA.

And, let’s be honest, some are looking at not-so-legal ways to reduce their tax bill.

Fortunately for all of us, most Americans still think tax evasion is bad.

Tax cheating not acceptable: The Internal Revenue Service’s most recent Comprehensive Taxpayer Attitude Survey, officially IRS Publication 5296, asked taxpayers the annual question, “What is an acceptable amount to cheat on income taxes?”

In 2024, 85 percent said tax cheating is “not at all acceptable.”

But, as the graph above shows, that answer has been trending downward a tad in recent years.

And for the 2025 filing season, the chaos at the IRS thanks to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) incursions and other Trump administration actions, might tempt more filers to try to slip one past the tax agency.

Articles that examine that topic earn this weekend’s Saturday Shout Outs.

Shout out warnings to would-be tax cheaters: First we start with a program that the IRS had bulked up after it got additional funding in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. That money subsequently was clawed back by Congress, and the special program to focus on returns filed by wealthy taxpayers has now been gutted.

After mass firings, the IRS is poised to close audits of wealthy taxpayers, agents say, reports Spencer Woodman in a piece for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. “The upheaval undermines the agency’s quest to tackle high-end tax cheating,” note Woodman.

As for all us not rich taxpayers, that move might signal that the IRS’ overall ability to double our returns has been compromised.

That perception prompted Marley Malenfant, a reporter for the Austin American-Statesman, which is part of the USA Today Network, to ask and answer, With IRS layoffs, will cheating on tax returns increase? Here's what you need to know.

This weekend’s final shout out cuts to the chase.

Why Cutting Corners on Your Taxes This Year Is a Bad Idea, writes Wall Street Journal reporter Laura Saunders for the newspaper’s Tax Report column. “Yes, the IRS is shrinking. But it is far from toothless — and the cost of getting caught has gotten higher,” notes Saunders.

So, if you’re thinking of cheating on your taxes, think again. Then don’t.

Sure, you’ll end up paying the U.S. Treasury a bit more with this year’s return. But you won’t be worrying for years whether the IRS is going to catch your sleight of tax hand and come after you.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Don't wave any of these 10 tax audit red flags
• IRS audit statute of limitations guides tax record keeping
• IRS payment plans available if you owe but can't pay in full

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