How Far Does IRS Jurisdiction Go?

Being aware of how far and wide the reach of the IRS goes is a little unclear, and there are some people who try to walk around the law to avoid paying taxes. Tax "protesters" usually try to dispute the jurisdiction of the IRS and the constitutionality. As a taxpayer, you must know the laws, so you don't end up having IRS issues in the future. Let us take a look at the reach and jurisdiction of the Internal Revenue Service.

Jurisdiction is a term commonly heard on movies, providing power to leaders to handle and enforce consequences on legal situations.

Since it has jurisdiction over all US taxpayers and people who make income in the US, the IRS is a bit amorphous. If you fail to understand that you have obligations to pay taxes as a taxpayer, you'll definitely have IRS issues.

Relating to the IRS is the Code of Federal Regulations Title 26:

"The Internal Revenue Service is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Commissioner has general superintendence of the assessment and collection of all taxes imposed by any law providing internal revenue. The Internal Revenue Service is the agency by which these functions are performed."

If you're a resident of the US, a non-resident earning money in the United States, a citizen living in foreign countries, or a citizen making money in foreign countries, the IRS has jurisdiction over you as a taxpayer. If you don't pay taxes on property, earnings, capital gains, etc., you will encounter IRS issues.

The IRS has no jurisdiction over some people. In this excerpt from the case of Economy Plumbing and Heating Co. vs. The United States, it explains that non-taxpayers are excluded from the IRS's rules and regulations:

"The revenue laws are a code or system in regulation of tax assessment and collection. They relate to taxpayers, and not to non-taxpayers. The latter are without their scope. No procedure is prescribed for non-taxpayers, and no attempt is made to annul any of their rights and remedies in due course of law. With them [non-taxpayers] Congress does not assume to deal, and they are neither of the subject nor of the object of the revenue laws."

By visiting the IRS website or your state's tax website, you can avoid IRS problems and figure out if you are a non-taxpayer.

To negate the IRS's jurisdiction, tax protesters insist that the 16th Amendment giving Congress the power to collect taxes on income wasn't officially ratified. The 16th Amendment was indeed ratified with a majority vote.

Another argument is that the IRS isn't a government agency at all, and thus, has no jurisdiction or authority over anyone. This is a ridiculous argument because the Secretary of the Treasury has power to maintain and enforce internal revenue laws. Because of this power, the IRS was founded. Arguments like these can lead honest people to suffer serious IRS problems. Taxpayers are indeed under the jurisdiction of the IRS.

IRS issues result from failure to truthfully declare income or pay taxes. If you're a taxpayer, you are under the jurisdiction of the IRS.