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Recently a brave member of the tax honesty movement challenged the IRS on its summons. As you may know, the IRS cannot require anyone to give it information regarding personal records unless a summons is issued and enforced by a federal court.  When one reviews the case law on this issue, it is very difficult to understand how the IRS can require information on a 1040 return without a summons when it cannot require information in response to a summons without a court order.  Think about that incongruity for a moment.

            This brave individual was told by the IRS agent that the IRS always wins these cases and that he should back down.  However the fellow decided to stand firm and he went to the IRS summons meeting and followed current case law methods of raising the Fifth Amendment. 

            The court ruled in his favor.  The court stated in its conclusion in an unpublished memorandum:

            For these reasons, the court finds that with the exception of a few insignificant questions, Respondent has demonstrated a real and appreciable hazard of self-incrimination such that he may invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in response to the information sought by the IRS agents.  Accordingly the court will recommend that the government's Petition to Enforce the IRS Summons be denied.

            The government then filed a motion to dismiss its own case in order to assure that there was not a published ruling against the IRS.  If you have not filed a return for even one year, you do have a real and appreciable hazard of self-incrimination.

            The moral of the story is that you must know what you are doing if you are going to stand up to the IRS on a summons.  I get many calls from people who are using methods that will not work. If you would like to know more about this case, you are welcome to give me a call.