Chicago attorney Rachel Cohen owes more than $8,000 in federal income taxes and intentionally left the balance unpaid.
“I will not pay federal income taxes this year,” Cohen said of his decision in a widely viewed TikTok video on March 2.
The 31-year-old community organizer has filed a federal tax return showing a balance of $8,830, according to tax documents reviewed by CNBC. But Cohen said he intentionally chose to withhold payment on that bill in protest of immigrant detention, including in ICE facilities, and the U.S. attack on Iran, which was launched without Congressional approval.
Although it is legal to express resistance to taxes, refusing to pay the taxes owed violates federal law and can result in significant penalties.
“It’s perfectly fine to be unhappy and to be dissatisfied with the government,” said Josh Youngblood, owner of the Dallas-based tax firm Youngblood Group. “But not paying taxes or engaging in tax evasion or tax evasion is not the answer.”
In addition to penalties and interest that begin accruing immediately on past-due balances, tax protesters could face “long-term consequences” such as wage garnishments, tax liens on property and even prison time, said Michele Frank, an associate professor of accounting at the University of Miami. Federal courts have a long history of siding with the Internal Revenue Service in tax resistance cases, routinely dismissing these claims as frivolous and, in some cases, imposing additional penalties.
Cohen told CNBC that he was well aware of the potential risks and that speaking up about the decision could result in further scrutiny from federal authorities.
Cohen said her protest was directed at federal spending priorities, not the tax system itself. She said she pays about $3,000 in Illinois taxes and feels the money is valuable because of how it supports state and local services, according to tax documents reviewed by CNBC.
Cohen said his decision was personal and he would not recommend it to anyone, but he said he hopes it will prompt people to reflect on whether their actions are consistent with their beliefs.
New interest in tax resistance
Cohen’s protests follow a long tradition of so-called wartime tax resistance, in which people withhold some or all of their federal taxes to protest government policies.
“It’s been going on for as long as we’ve been in this country,” Frank said.
Tax protests typically increase when the U.S. government engages in war or other “controversial” activities, in which taxpayers withhold some or all of their tax payments.
That appears to be happening again, according to the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, an educational nonprofit founded in the early 1980s by activists associated with the anti-Vietnam War movement.
Before the war in Gaza began in 2023, the group’s website averaged about 40,000 unique visitors a year, said Lincoln Rice, the group’s coordinator. In January 2026 alone, traffic jumped to over 110,000 people.
“I don’t think anyone would make a decision to practice wartime tax resistance based on a single action,” Rice told CNBC. Rather, major political events may be the “last resort” that prompts some people to explore this strategy.
Rice said the organization does not encourage people to refuse to pay their taxes, but instead provides information about how the practice works and its legal risks.
Their approaches vary. Rice said some protesters filed tax returns but refused to pay their outstanding balances, while others deliberately paid less than they owed. Some people choose not to file at all, which can result in harsher penalties.
Ruth Benn, a longtime wartime tax protester and volunteer counselor with the National Wartime Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, said one of the more common approaches is filing tax returns but refusing to pay the federal income taxes owed. She currently owes about $27,000 in federal taxes, including interest and penalties accumulated over multiple years, according to a summary of her IRS accounts reviewed by CNBC.
Ben said he has regularly received letters from the IRS over the years “with interest and penalties,” and that he met with the IRS in 2009 regarding his tax liability.
She said a small state refund was garnished and some government kickbacks were withheld. “I think they took $800 out of my bank account around 1990,” she said. “Otherwise, I don’t remember any more bank accounts being seized or money taken from my paycheck.”
Ben said he began withholding payments decades ago after participating in anti-war activities, and that he sends a letter to the IRS every year explaining why he is withholding payments. She said she was open with the IRS about not paying, rather than trying to hide her income.
However, it is still illegal to not pay federal income taxes. Those who do not pay can still face penalties, interest, collection actions, and in some cases willful failure to pay taxes can be prosecuted as a criminal offense.
Apart from this, certain tax positions may result in more severe penalties. The IRS warned in a 2022 briefing that taxpayers who rely on “frivolous” claims to avoid taxes, such as claiming that their tax return is voluntary or contesting what is considered income, could be subject to additional civil penalties and, in more serious cases, criminal prosecution, including felonies related to tax evasion and false returns. The agency cites multiple cases in which courts have ruled against tax protesters.
Ben said those considering tax resistance need to understand that the IRS may pursue collections years later, which can lead to unintended consequences.
“It’s unpredictable,” she said. “That’s the difficult part about this particular anti-war protest. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Impact on anti-tax participants
According to the IRS, while some Americans object to funding for certain government programs, moral or religious beliefs do not exempt taxpayers from paying federal income taxes.
If you fail to file a return, you will be subject to a “missed return” penalty of 5% of the tax owed for each month or part of a month in which your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%. The agency also charges interest on fines.
Youngblood, who is also an enrolled agent, said the IRS will eventually be able to prepare a “replacement return” on your behalf, which will waive any credits or deductions you may owe. This is a tax license filed with the IRS.
You can then expect to receive a “90-day letter” with the agency’s proposed balance assessment before collection begins. This may include offsetting refunds, garnishing wages, seizing property, and other activities.
There’s also a “failure to pay” penalty of 0.5% of the balance for each month or part of a month you file late, up to a maximum of 25%, but other penalties can be significantly higher, Youngblood said.
For example, if you file a return without enough information to calculate the correct amount of tax owed, you could be subject to a $5,000 civil penalty for what is called an “imprudent tax return,” according to the Internal Revenue Code.
Alternatively, some applicants could be subject to a 75% civil fraud penalty if authorities determine that the underpayment was due to fraud rather than negligence.
According to the Internal Revenue Code, there is also no statute of limitations for “false or fraudulent returns.” In such cases, the IRS could pursue the filer indefinitely.
In some cases, failure to pay taxes may result in imprisonment. During fiscal year 2024, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reported original sentences for approximately 360 federal criminal cases involving tax evasion, an 11% increase from fiscal year 2020. The 2,024 cases included, among other things, tax evasion, willful failure to file returns, provide information, and pay taxes.
