How Does the IRS Find Someone Who Has Moved?

If a taxpayer owes taxes for previous years, the IRS will begin sending him notices about the delinquent taxes to his last known address as stated on his most recent tax return.  What is the taxpayer moves to another city or state.  Does he escape these taxes?  Unfortunately, there is no question that the federal tax liability will follow the taxpayer wherever he moves.

 

 

The IRS can easily find a delinquent taxpayer by several means, so it is just a matter of time before those nasty letters will begin arriving again.   The most common way of tracking the taxpayer is through W-2 or 1099 forms filed by employers each year.  Assuming the taxpayer gets a job, his new address will be on the W-2 form submitted at the end of the year, so even if he does not file a tax return, the IRS will have the information from the employer.

Another way for the IRS to track a taxpayer is through bank records.  This might be because the taxpayer opens an account or applies for a loan, which would be two very common things for someone moving to a new city.  Because the IRS is such a huge organization and moves so slowly, it might take two or more years for the IRS to find a taxpayer, but they will eventually continue the collections efforts in the taxpayer’s new location.