Is tax evasion a grave sin?

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i would find out if the income at 600 is even taxable. irs doesn’t ask for your name when you ask questions.
 
Soubirous1 said:
i would find out if the income at 600 is even taxable. irs doesn’t ask for your name when you ask questions.
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“Schedule SE” says that if you make more than $400 profit it must be included. And based on rough estimates I’ve profited around $590-600, however now that I think about it, there are a lot of items that I still have listed that I purchased in 2019 that never sold, so do I then subtract the amount I purchased those items for from the profit? If that’s the case I may not have even profited $400 because I know I had a big purchased for $100 in 2019 that hasn’t sold, along with many other smaller purchases in 2019 that are still for sale…ugh it’s just a lot of bookkeeping that I didn’t do.
 
I’m not sure how that would work so i can’t answer that for you. sorry.
 
Soubirous1 said:
I’m not sure how that would work so i can’t answer that for you. sorry.
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Lol no problem. But think about it…if items that I put money into in 2019 have not yet sold…so $5 here or there for sweaters or shoes that I bought at garage sales to sell…that would influence the “profit” for 2019 right? Because I’m still waiting to get my money back on the investment. It’s ok if you don’t know I’m just trying to think it though haha. Because if you think about it that way, it’s very easy to say that I’ve made less or about $400…which is apparently the cutoff for taxable home business earnings.
 
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I don’t think this is really the best thing to say to someone struggling with scruples.
 
You can only subtract business expenses (unsold items) from profit if you have an official side business, or that is my understanding. If you’re just earning money in this way as a for-profit-hobby, it might not allow you to take all the deductions. But if you are a business, that usually involves paperwork, an extra tax form, and speaking to an accountant.

I’m Canadian, so some rules may not apply to you. But up here we have a program where you can speak to the CRA (our IRS) for free when you are a start-up, and they’ll clarify tax concerns you may have so they end up spending less time on you when you’re audited in the future. Some accountants have free consults too.

If this is an ongoing activity for you, talk to a professional.
Yes, speak to a priest about your scruples too but they aren’t tax experts. They may not even know if you really owe the money…
 
Thanks, I’ll look into that. I just kept such poor bookkeeping I don’t really know where to start. My “profit” is really just a rough estimate. It was always just a hobby to bring in some extra money, didn’t think it would cause such a headache come tax season.
 
if you contact irs they will probably just dismiss the small amount of tax owed and bid you a good day. they’re not gonna want to deal with 10 receipts over $600 profit. that’s what I’d do anyway 🙂
 
There used to be “the honor system” taught. It states since the IRS takes steps to catch you, you are not on your honor to report. Irrespective the amount of taxes avoided does not raise to the mortal sin level IMHO!
 
Personally, I think it would be best to personally talk with a licensed CPA on this. Based on what you are told there, you may want to talk with a priest. This really is not something to ask a group of strangers on the internet in my opinion.
 
Thanks for your responses, I’m in line for confession and I will bring it up and heed his direction for what to do.
 
Update- spoke with Father for my normal confession and also mentioned my dilemma. Unfortunately he is foreign, (and I was hoping one of the American priests was there today instead. Not to say he wouldn’t understand but I’m not sure his background on American taxes haha). He speaks excellent English, so I explained to the best of my ability the problem, and he seemed to think it was not of a grave issue. So I guess that’s the consensus. :woman_shrugging:t3:

I do appreciate all of the feedback and dealing with my ramblings lol.
 
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“Give unto Ceasar what is Ceasars…” ?
MaryV said:
I was advised by my dad, who has done taxes for others for many years, told me that technically I could claim part of my house as my home office, (though there are some stipulations regarding this) and that alone would likely cancel out anything I owed, given that the profit doesn’t even reach $600.
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If I really wanted to be perfect about the situation, the above consideration would give me sufficient solace… if I were really certain about that assessment.
 
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edward_george1 said:
I don’t think this is really the best thing to say to someone struggling with scruples.
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Having knowledge of the SE tax form and its regulations, and also hearing from her dad who does others’ taxes, it is a bit beyond scrupulosity.

It would have been easy for me to say it is not grave matter, and therefore not a mortal sin. To be mortal, the person must know that it is serious and then commit it anyway. She was 1) unaware of its seriousness, even with her research, and therefore it was not grave matter. To defraud a billionaire of $600 is also not grave matter.

What concerned me is that, being venial in nature, one may dismiss it without any qualms of conscience. Since I am very aware that one must have no attachment to sin in order to obtain plenary indulgences, this venial matter, if indulged, will prevent the obtaining of plenaries, for oneself or a loved one who is departed, and pave the way for a somewhat lax conscience.

I would further advise that she let it go and not worry about filing an amended return, since it was not grave matter. As for the future? That is why I asked her to question her motive.
 
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Sirach2 said:
To defraud a billionaire of $600 is also not grave matter.
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Thank you for your lengthy response! I know I get flack about “asking for advice from strangers” but I do find solace when I hear the opinions from other devout Catholics, especially because I do tend to lean towards scrupulously ( is getting slightly better, praise God! 😁❤️). And about the $600, from that, if I don’t take any deductions from it, business expenses, phone expenses (as I use my phone for much of the business) gas to get to my stores to buy inventory and so on and so forth, aka, stuff I didn’t keep track of because I didn’t think about paying taxes on it…would really only amount to $200ish in dues…so not the $600. And I’m really not trying to get out of it, had my husband waited To do the taxes, I probably would’ve insisted that we record them. The big issue here now is that they’ve already been partially submitted, and it would be such a headache burden my husband to resubmit them and to try to figure out how to get all the correct information and profit given that I kept very little record.
 
Just for future reference, you won’t need gas receipts if you use the mileage deduction. Since it’s not a full time business vehicle, it would be easiest.
 
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