by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 07, 2010   Last Updated: March 09, 2010

What happens if you don't file your tax return on time? The IRS once revealed a dirty truth about their April 15th deadline, according to newspaper columnist Cecil Adams. After an investigation he reported that an IRS spokesperson "candidly admits there's no way they can go through all that paperwork ferreting out schnooks who filed their returns 15 minutes or even a couple of days late." So the simplest answer is: nothing, as long as you don't wait too long. But then the IRS starts fighting back.

At least, that's what they'd have you believe. But reporters at Slate have conducted some additional investigations, and discovered another dirty secret. "Seven million Americans fail to file their taxes every year, and in 2008 the IRS examined only 158,000 such cases. That comes out to a roughly 2 percent chance of getting caught."

Interestingly, the IRS's web site lists this as one of their most frequently-asked questions: Will I Go To Jail? And the IRS provides a reassuring answer. "A long-standing practice of the IRS has been not to recommend criminal prosecution of individuals for failure to file tax returns, provided they voluntarily file, or make arrangements to file, before being notified they are under criminal investigation."

"The IRS wants to get people back into the system, not prosecute ordinary people who made a mistake."

It's also worth remembering that you're not even required to file a tax return at all if your income falls below certain levels. TurboTax supplies a handy chart, showing what those levels are for people with varying ages and filing statues. The table shows that it's possible to earn up to $20,900 without having to file a tax return - if you're married and filing jointly - though the IRS drops that allowed income to just $3,650 if you're married by filing separately.  Everyone else can earn at least $9,350 before they're required to file, so if they earned less than that and then missed the deadline for filing a tax return - nothing happens!

If you've missed the deadline for paying your taxes, the IRS charges you interest on the due amount, and they also tack on some additional penalties. First, if you file your taxes late, there's an automatic penalty of five percent for the balance due in each month after the deadline, up to 25 percent of the amount due. (So if your return would've showed that you owed no taxes, then fortunately your penalty is... $0.) Otherwise, the IRS also tacks on a small "failure to pay" penalty (just half

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