Chicago lawyer Rachel Cohen owes greater than $8,000 in federal earnings taxes — however has deliberately left that steadiness unpaid.
“I am not paying my federal earnings tax this yr,” Cohen mentioned in a extensively seen TikTok video from March 2 about her choice.
The 31-year-old neighborhood organizer filed her federal tax return, which reveals a steadiness due of $8,830, in keeping with a tax doc reviewed by CNBC. However Cohen mentioned she intentionally selected to withhold fee of that invoice as a protest in opposition to immigration detention, together with ICE amenities, and U.S. strikes on Iran launched with out congressional approval.
Whereas voicing resistance to taxes is authorized, refusing to pay taxes owed can violate federal regulation and result in severe penalties.
“It is fully OK to be sad and be dissatisfied with our authorities,” mentioned Josh Youngblood, proprietor of The Youngblood Group, a Dallas-based tax agency. “However not paying taxes, or participating in tax fraud or evasion, will not be the reply.”
Along with penalties and curiosity that begin accruing instantly on their past-due balances, tax protesters can face “long-term penalties,” equivalent to wage garnishment, a tax lien on property and even jail time, in keeping with Michele Frank, affiliate professor of accountancy at Miami College. Federal courts have a lengthy monitor document of siding with the Inside Income Service in circumstances involving tax resistance, routinely dismissing these claims as frivolous and, in some situations, imposing extra penalties.
Cohen informed CNBC she is totally conscious of the potential dangers and that talking brazenly concerning the choice may entice extra scrutiny from federal authorities.
Her protest is directed at federal spending priorities, not taxation itself, Cohen mentioned. She paid about $3,000 in Illinois state taxes, in keeping with a tax doc reviewed by CNBC, and mentioned she sees worth in how these {dollars} help state and native companies.
Cohen mentioned her choice is private and never one thing she is encouraging others to do, however hopes it pushes folks to replicate on whether or not their actions match their beliefs.
Renewed curiosity in tax resistance
Cohen’s protest follows an extended custom of so-called conflict tax resistance, through which folks withhold some or all of their federal taxes to oppose authorities insurance policies.
“It has been occurring just about so long as we have been a rustic,” Frank mentioned.
Sometimes, there’s an uptick in tax protesting — with filers holding again some or all of their tax funds — when the U.S. authorities engages in a conflict or different “controversial” actions, she mentioned.
That seems to be taking place once more, in keeping with the Nationwide Battle Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, an academic nonprofit based within the early Eighties by activists linked to the anti-Vietnam Battle motion.
The group’s web site had averaged about 40,000 distinctive guests a yr till the conflict in Gaza started in 2023, in keeping with Lincoln Rice, the group’s coordinator. In January 2026 alone, visitors surged to greater than 110,000 guests.
“I do not assume anybody’s making the choice to follow conflict tax resistance primarily based on one single motion,” Rice informed CNBC. As a substitute, main political occasions can develop into the “remaining straw” that prompts some folks to discover the tactic.
Rice mentioned the group doesn’t encourage folks to refuse to pay taxes however as a substitute gives details about how the follow works and its authorized dangers.
These approaches fluctuate. Some protesters file their tax returns however refuse to pay the steadiness owed, whereas others intentionally pay lower than they owe, Rice mentioned. Some additionally select to not file in any respect, which may expose them to steeper penalties.
Ruth Benn, a longtime conflict tax protester and volunteer counselor with the Nationwide Battle Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, mentioned she has adopted one of many extra frequent approaches: submitting her tax returns however refusing to pay the federal earnings tax she owes. She presently owes about $27,000 in federal taxes, together with curiosity and penalties collected over a number of years, in keeping with a abstract of her IRS account reviewed by CNBC.
Benn mentioned through the years she has frequently acquired IRS letters “with curiosity and penalties including up” and met with the company in 2009 associated to her tax debt.
She mentioned she has had small state refunds seized and a few authorities rebates withheld. “I feel round 1990 they took $800 from a checking account,” she mentioned. “In any other case, I do not recall extra checking account seizures, and I by no means had cash taken from a paycheck.”
Benn mentioned she started withholding fee many years in the past after turning into concerned in anti-war activism, and that she sends the IRS a letter annually explaining why she is withholding fee. She mentioned she is open with the IRS about not paying, relatively than attempting to cover earnings.
Nonetheless, failing to pay federal earnings taxes continues to be unlawful. Those that do not pay may nonetheless face penalties, curiosity and assortment actions, and in some circumstances, willful failure to pay taxes might be charged as a prison offense.
Individually, sure tax positions can set off extra extreme penalties. The IRS warned in a 2022 transient that taxpayers counting on “frivolous” arguments to keep away from taxes — equivalent to claiming tax returns are voluntary, or disputing what counts as earnings, amongst others — can face extra civil penalties and, in additional severe circumstances, prison prosecution, together with felony fees tied to tax evasion or false filings. The company cites a number of circumstances through which courts have dominated in opposition to tax protesters.
Benn mentioned folks contemplating tax resistance ought to perceive that the implications might be surprising, with the IRS typically pursuing assortment years later.
“It is unpredictable,” she mentioned. “That is the exhausting a part of this explicit anti-war protest. You do not know what is going on to occur when.”
Penalties for tax protesters
Whereas some People object to funding sure authorities packages, ethical or spiritual beliefs do not exempt taxpayers from paying federal earnings taxes, in keeping with the IRS.
When you do not file a return, there is a “failure to file” penalty, levied at 5% of your taxes due for every month or partial month the submitting is late and capped at 25%. The company additionally fees curiosity on penalties.
Ultimately, the IRS can put together a “substitute for return” in your behalf, with out the credit and deductions you are owed, mentioned Youngblood, who can be an enrolled agent, which is a tax license to follow earlier than the IRS.
After that, you’ll be able to anticipate a “90-day letter” with the company’s proposed evaluation of your steadiness earlier than they begin collections. This might embrace refund offsets, garnishing wages, seizing property and different actions.
There’s additionally a “failure to pay” penalty — 0.5% of your steadiness for every month or partial month the submitting is late, capped at 25% — however different penalties might be considerably greater, Youngblood mentioned.
For instance, if you happen to file a return with out sufficient data to calculate the proper tax legal responsibility, you could possibly be topic to a $5,000 civil penalty for what’s referred to as a “frivolous tax return,” in keeping with the Inside Income Code.
Alternatively, some filers may see a 75% civil fraud penalty if the company believes the underpayment is because of fraud relatively than negligence.
There’s additionally no statute of limitations for a “false or fraudulent return,” in keeping with the Inside Income Code. For these circumstances, the IRS may pursue filers indefinitely.
In some circumstances, failure to pay taxes may end in jail time. Throughout fiscal yr 2024, the U.S. Sentencing Fee reported authentic sentencing for some 360 federal prison circumstances involving tax fraud, up 11% from fiscal yr 2020. The 2024 circumstances included tax evasion and willful failure to file a return, provide data or pay tax, amongst different points.
