> and also I'm now in trouble
I know people who mess it up every year and the government just sends the forms back corrected. In fact they started treating the government like a tax prep service. Do people actually get in trouble for this?
I know people who mess it up every year and the government just sends the forms back corrected. In fact they started treating the government like a tax prep service. Do people actually get in trouble for this?
Unless they willingly and provingly try to grift IRS on a continuous basis, no, people don't get in trouble for this.
If you mess something up or underpay on your taxes, and if (or when) IRS detects it, they will send you a letter explaining their concerns and provide you with remediation options (as well as an opportunity to dispute, of course). The remediation options provided by IRS typically include both "pay it now and we will go away as if it never happened" and "talk to us, and we can work out a payment plan with you (in case you aren't able to cover at the moment)".
So no, IRS isn't some boogeyman that is gonna get you in trouble over a mistake. If they catch a mistake, they will work with you to remediate it, and their terms are typically extremely reasonable, and have zero negative consequences for utilizing them (unless you are, beyond any reasonable doubt, trying to defraud them or refuse to cooperate entirely).
Happened to my parents recently
Your parents must have defaulted on the plan, not filed taxes or otherwise broken a rule. Because once a plan is set up, the IRS is forbidden from seizing assets unless something rare like the previous happens.