 TITLE: Can You Go to Jail for Debt? CONTENT: What Kinds of Debt Can You Go to Jail For?\n------------------------------------------\nThere are a couple of instances where it may be possible to serve time as a result of not paying your debts, such as if you've failed to pay your federal taxes or make child support payments.\nDeliberately not paying or underpaying federal taxes can lead to a prison sentence, but only if you've been charged with and convicted of a tax-related crime such as filing a fraudulent tax return or not filing a tax return at all. If you do file a return but aren't able to pay your taxes, the federal government won't throw you in prison.\nFailure to pay child support also can put you behind bars. Under federal law, you could be sentenced to as much as six months or two years in prison for dodging child support payments, depending on the circumstances. In addition, state laws may let a judge send someone to jail for disobeying a court order to pay child support. END