Two people break down dangerous tax myths spreading online: that self-employed people can skip quarterly payments or that wage earners can write "exempt" on their W-4 to avoid federal taxes. Both are illegal. The IRS will come after you with penalties, interest, and liens on your property, including your home.
I'm not paying federal taxes, and there's a lot of people just like me because we've realized the system's a scam.
Look, we're the first people to say the IRS sucks, but paying taxes is the law, and choosing to not pay taxes is a one-way ticket to a really bad time. The IRS will slap you with penalties, and they can even put a lien on your house. So please don't lose your house over what you heard on social media.
If you're self-employed, it's pretty simple— just stop paying your quarterly taxes. If you're not self-employed and you work for a company, You're going to need to fill out a new W-4. Then you're going to come down to the bottom here to Section 4C. You're going to write exempt.
Writing exempt when you're not is the definition of a false statement. That's an automatic $5,000 penalty on top of what you already owe. Stop taking tax advice from influencers who have never signed a tax return. Instead, trust the professionals who actually share the liability with you and follow for more real tax saving strategies.
