[VIEW ALL COURSES](https://www.alfi.org/courses/) ## Course Overview Program Field of Study: Taxes, Federal Tax Related Matters Program Level: Basic Who Should Attend: CPAs, Enrolled Agents, tax preparers, attorneys Credits: 1 CPE | 1 CE Advanced Preparation: None Prerequisite: None required. Familiarity with Episodes 2 and 4 (the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures and the Voluntary Disclosure Practice) will help attendees get the most out of Part Two, but the program recaps both before building on them. IRS Program Number: JWRXB-T-00038-26-O Ask most nonfilers how far back the IRS can go, and you’ll get some version of the same wrong answer: three years, six years, ten years — pick a number, and assume the rest is safe. It isn’t. For any tax year in which a valid return was never filed, the assessment statute of limitations under IRC §6501 never starts running at all. This program is the fifth installment in the Coming Out of the Dark series, and it marks a shift in focus: where earlier episodes centered on international reporting failures, this session turns to the far more common file — the domestic nonfiler. We’ll cover the general three-year assessment period and the handful of ways it can fail to start in the first place, including the Beard test for what actually counts as a “return.” We’ll then draw the critical distinction between that legal rule and the IRS’s own internal enforcement guideline, Policy Statement 5-133, which generally limits delinquency enforcement to six years as a matter of administrative practice — not law. From there, we’ll connect this analysis directly to the disclosure-path decision covered in Episodes 2 and 4: quiet filing, the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures, or the Voluntary Disclosure Practice. A hypothetical case study ties the whole framework together, and a closing segment flags the international exceptions — covered in depth in Episode 3 — that can still surface in an otherwise domestic file. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for evaluating a nonfiler’s actual exposure, distinguishing law from IRS practice, and matching that exposure to the right compliance path. ## Credit Types: ![IRS Provider Logo Continuing Education](https://www.alfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Layer_1.png) ![National Registry of CPE Sponsors](https://www.alfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/image-1.png) EARN 1 CE CREDITS EARN 1 CPE CREDITS DURATION: 1 Hour ![](https://www.alfi.org/wp-content/themes/alfi/assets/images/instructor-bg-3.png) ![Headshot of Matt Eddleman](https://www.alfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Matt-Eddlemen-500x500-upscale.png) Matt Eddleman Tax Director [VIEW COURSES](https://www.alfi.org/instructor/matt-eddleman/) ## Related Courses ![Penalty Relief for Nonfilers: Automatic Exemption from Penalty, First Time Abate, and Reasonable Cause](https://www.alfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/default-class-image.png) ### Penalty Relief for Nonfilers: Automatic Exemption from Penalty, First Time Abate, and Reasonable Cause 1 CPE Credit 1 CE Credit Duration: 1 Hour Course Date: 11/04/2026 Time: 1:00pm ET [INSTRUCTOR Matt Eddleman, EA Meet the Instructor](https://www.alfi.org/instructor/matt-eddleman/) [SIGN UP NOW](https://www.alfi.org/course/penalty-relief-for-nonfilers-automatic-exemption-from-penalty-first-time-abate-and-reasonable-cause/) ** FEATURED ![Crystal Ball: What the Election Means for the Tax Community](https://www.alfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/default-class-image.png) ### Crystal Ball: What the Election Means for the Tax Community 1 CPE Credit 1 CE Credit Duration: 1 Hour Course Date: 11/05/2026 Time: 1:00pm ET [INSTRUCTOR Terry Lemons Meet the Instructor](https://www.alfi.org/instructor/terry-lemons/) [INSTRUCTOR Thad Inge Meet the Instructor](https://www.alfi.org/instructor/thad-inge/) [INSTRUCTOR Bernie Becker Meet the Instructor](https://www.alfi.org/instructor/bernie-becker/) [INSTRUCTOR Cady Stanton Meet the Instructor](https://www.alfi.org/instructor/cady-stanton/) [SIGN UP NOW](https://www.alfi.org/course/crystal-ball-what-the-election-means-for-the-tax-community/) ![Welcome to Tax Controversy](https://www.alfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/default-class-image.png) ### Welcome to Tax Controversy 1 CPE Credit 1 CLE Credit 1 CE Credit Duration: 1 Hour Course Date: 11/24/2026 Time: 1:00pm ET [INSTRUCTOR Peter Haukebo, Esq. 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