MYTH: FILING A TAX RETURN IS VOLUNTARY
No, it isn’t. It’s mandatory, although compliance is voluntary — only because the Internal Revenue Service can’t follow everybody in the country around to make sure they file. There is, in fact, a law (Title 26 of the U.S. Code, ratified by the 16th Amendment to the Constitution) that requires every individual with taxable income to file. While some people make too little to file, in general everybody with an income is expected to send in a return.