A dumb question....Maybe ???

[phamdinhnam3]

If a person is convicted of tax evasion, and serves prison time for that crime.
Does time served cancel the tax debt that he did not pay?

[Famspear]

If a person is convicted of tax evasion, and serves prison time for that crime.
Does time served cancel the tax debt that he did not pay?

No.

However, there is a statutory period of limitations on collection of an assessed U.S. federal tax.

[Burnaby49]

If a person is convicted of tax evasion, and serves prison time for that crime.
Does time served cancel the tax debt that he did not pay?

Not in Canada. The prison sentence is for a criminal act, tax evasion, but the assessment is civil and still stands even with an evasion conviction. They are considered separate issues and the tax is still owing. A conviction for tax evasion in Canada results in fines even if no prison sentence is involved. These are separate from, and in addition to, any civil fines or penalties imposed under the Income Tax Act. It can add up.

[Dr. Caligari]

Not in Canada. The prison sentence is for a criminal act, tax evasion, but the assessment is civil and still stands even with an evasion conviction. They are considered separate issues and the tax is still owing. A conviction for tax evasion in Canada results in fines even if no prison sentence is involved. These are separate from, and in addition to, any civil fines or penalties imposed under the Income Tax Act. It can add up.

Not in the U.S. either. In addition to the criminal sentence and fine, the convicted defendant owes the tax, plus a 75% civil fraud penalty, plus interest. The court in the criminal case can also order the defendant to pay "restitution" to the IRS. The restitution is credited against any civil assessment, but the restitution order saves the IRS some time and trouble of making a civil assessment.

[operabuff]

Once the taxpayer has been convicted of tax evasion, the IRS has an unlimited period to assess the taxes - section 6501(c)(1). Once the IRS has assessed taxes, then it has ten years to collect. Up until recently the IRS had no authority to collect restitution amounts from taxpayers - they either had to rely on DOJ and the court to enforce restitution or use deficiency procedures to make a civil assessment of taxes. But Congress amended section 6201 in 2010 to allow the IRS to assess and collect restitution amounts without going through deficiency procedures.

Here's a link to a Chief Counsel Notice that provides more information than you could possibly want to know about assessment of restitution amounts.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-ccdm/cc-2011-018.pdf

[jcolvin2]

Note that if an order of restitution with respect to a tax liability is entered in a criminal case, the amount can be collected by the government up to 20 years after the defendant is released from prison, irrespective of the 10 year statute of limitations on the collection of a civil tax liability.

While orders of restitution cannot be entered with respect to charges under Title 26 (the Internal Revenue Code), if the defendant is convicted of a conspiracy to evade taxes under 18 U.S.C. 371, restitution in such a case can be collected by the government for the extended period.

[Famspear]

If a person is convicted of tax evasion, and serves prison time for that crime.
Does time served cancel the tax debt that he did not pay?

Among some tax cheats, including some tax protester-tax denier types, there is a tendency to go long periods of time denying that they owe taxes, and demanding that the government "show me the law," etc., etc., even after enforced collection actions are well under way.

When they find that they are under criminal investigation, many of the tend to "double down" -- that is, to continue the phony rhetoric even more emphatically.

Then, once they realize that they actually are going to prison, a few will say "they don't need to put me in jail; if they'll just show me what I owe and why, I'll pay." I think Kent Hovind took an approach like that -- very late into the process.

Of course, the IRS criminal investigators are not trying to collect tax. The IRS criminal investigators are trying to determine whether they should recommend that the tax cheat be prosecuted and sent to jail. Tax collections are being pursued by a separate part of the IRS.