What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL
How in the world does someone get away with not filing a w-2 for a couple of years, then filing the next couple of years? Basically only filing when he know he's getting money back and doesn't owe... How can the IRS not catch on to this?
No one is "getting away with" anything. When the IRS receives a W-2 but no matching tax return, they do a pro forma tax calculation using the person's last filing status and one exemption. If the result is tax due, they send a series of notices to the taxpayer asking them to file. If they ignore these notices, the IRS will eventually file a return for them and begin collection procedures. If the calculation shows a refund, the IRS will do nothing. If the taxpayer fails to file for that refund within three years, that refund is lost.
If a taxpayer files a return that shows a refund and there are unfiled returns from prior years, the IRS will likely hold that refund until the returns are caught up.
A W-2 does not mean there is necessarily a filing requirement. If a person's income is less than the standard deduction plus their personal exemption, they are not required to file unless they have certain other types of income.
The IRS deals with every single W-2 so the "shear volume of returns" is of no consequence. Finally, W-2's are attached to the return because the IRS does not get W-2 information from SSA until early summer and the W-2 is the only way they have to determine income & withholding until then.
