A 21-year-old college student recently posted in a panic on Reddit’s r/personalfinance community that their father hadn’t filed a tax return in over two decades. “My dad hasn’t paid taxes in at least 24 years, since my mom met him,” the post began.
The situation erupted when the family received a letter from the IRS claiming the father owed approximately $150,000 in back taxes. The agency is preparing to place a lien on the home. The father made a living flipping houses but failed to report the income to the IRS, the post said. Instead, he’s been depositing money into students’ bank accounts: “I’m like, his treasurer?” the original poster wrote. “I feel really uncomfortable right now because I know he hasn’t filed his taxes in a long time, and I kind of feel like he’s just using me to escape reality.” [the government/IRS]? “
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The student said they are currently unemployed and have been struggling to find work. Meanwhile, their mother suffers from a chronic illness and is financially dependent on their father, who receives Social Security. The parents were not legally married but had lived together for more than twenty years.
Commenters don’t mince words: The father is committing tax fraud, and the student risks being viewed as a co-conspirator. “You are not his treasurer, you are his tax evasion partner. (Intentionally or not),” one person wrote. Others warn that sharing accounts could result in the IRS seizing funds or legal consequences.
One commenter, claiming to be a CPA, added: “Once their auditors follow up (which is easy with their bank accounts), they will find out your father is evading taxes and making fraudulent transfers to third parties, which will implicate you.”
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Many urged the student to immediately withdraw from all shared bank and credit card accounts and open a new account in his own name at another bank. Others warn them to freeze their credit and check for signs of identity theft.
Some suspect the father’s accounts may have been seized, prompting him to begin hiding money through his children. “There’s no doubt your father knew exactly what he was doing,” one person said. “He chose to deposit the money into your account because he knew the IRS would investigate his account.”
