Definition
Back taxes is a term for taxes that were not completely paid when due. Typically, these are taxes that are owed from a prior year.
Back Taxes
What is ‘Back Taxes’
Taxes that have been unpaid in the year that they were due. Taxpayers can have unpaid back taxes at the federal, state and/or local levels. Back taxes accumulate interest and penalties on a regular basis.
Explaining ‘Back Taxes’
Unpaid back taxes can be a serious issue for many taxpayers who don’t have the means to pay them. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently turned over the collection of unpaid back taxes to a private collection agency. Taxpayers who lack the means to repay taxes may often negotiate a lesser settlement via an offer in compromise with the IRS either directly or through a tax attorney.
Further Reading
- An equilibrium analysis of debt financing under costly tax arbitrage and agency problems – www.jstor.org [PDF]
- The economics and politics of tax increment financing – onlinelibrary.wiley.com [PDF]
- Offshore pariahs? Small island economies, tax havens, and the re-configuration of global finance – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- Repatriation taxes, repatriation strategies and multinational financial policy – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- Globalisation and developing countries–a shrinking tax base? – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Equity and entrepreneurialism: The impact of tax increment financing on school finance – journals.sagepub.com [PDF]
