What happens if you dont pay your taxes?

If you fail to pay your taxes, or even fail to file them altogether, the consequences could be dire. First and foremost, you receive a late fee penalty as the first form of discipline. This fee could be seen as the IRS' way of charging interest bestowed upon the taxpayer for overdue taxes. These penalties will increase for every month the taxes aren't payed/filed, starting at roughly 5% of the amount owed, and capping off at 25%. Eventually, if enough time passes, all states have various statutes that allow the IRS to go after you in civil court, in which they can extract the taxes owed that way. In extreme cases, such as tax evasion, the oblivious taxpayer is sent to jail as punishment for refusing to file and pay their taxes during a sufficient period of time. There is a way to work around late taxes if the taxpayer can successfully file an extension before April 15th of every year. The taxpayer must have a reasonable and honest reason as to why the IRS cannot collect the taxes owed by the person in order for the extension to be approved.