If you think that you can get away with not paying taxes that you owe the IRS, think again. Very few people ever get out of paying tax debt and when they do, it is usually because they have successfully proven that they honestly are unable to pay their tax debt now and most likely will never have the funds to pay it in the future.

If you owe the IRS money and can show the IRS you truly cannot afford to pay in full, it is rare and often times cumbersome to settle your debt for less with mechanisms like an offer in compromise, partial payment installment agreement and so forth. 

Generally, when you owe taxes and believe you can't pay in full, be prepared for the IRS to thoroughly examine your income and expenses. They normally can obtain this information from a 433-A, 433-B, or 433-F. The IRS will ultimately make the final determination as to whether you can afford to pay your debt and, if so, how much you can afford to pay, using IRS Collection Financial Standards, which were revised and became effective 10/3/2011.