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ISCR Case 24-00941 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 24-00941

A decided public DOHA case, shown for research — not advice or a prediction.

Case Profile
Decision Date2/27/2025
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Caroline E. Heintzelman
Government Counsel: Brian L. Farrell
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 31-year-old welder who applied for a security clearance and faced allegations under Guideline F (financial considerations) due to his failure to file federal and state income tax returns for tax years 2018 through 2022. The Statement of Reasons (SOR) indicated that these returns remained unfiled as of the date of the SOR, raising concerns about his financial responsibility and reliability.
The applicant admitted to the allegations in the SOR, explaining that he had not filed his tax returns due to a lack of assistance after his previous tax preparer stopped working. He claimed he intended to resolve his tax issues by hiring help to file his returns. Despite providing some documentation of his tax returns for the years in question, he did not demonstrate that the IRS or state tax authorities had received or accepted these filings. The applicant also cited financial difficulties stemming from a court-ordered child support obligation, which he claimed impacted his ability to address his tax issues.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he failed to mitigate the security concerns related to his financial irresponsibility. The judge found that the applicant did not demonstrate a reasonable effort to resolve his unfiled tax returns and that his financial issues raised significant doubts about his reliability and trustworthiness, ultimately denying his eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 24-00941

deniedFeb 27, 2025· Hon. Caroline E. Heintzelman· hearing

Summary

A 31-year-old welder's security clearance application was denied under Guideline F, Financial Considerations, due to unfiled federal and state income tax returns. The Statement of Reasons alleged the applicant failed to timely file returns for tax years 2018 through 2022, and these remained unfiled as of the Statement of Reasons date. The applicant admitted to not filing returns for tax years 2018 through 2021.

The denial was based on the applicant's failure to file federal and state income tax returns for tax years 2018 through 2022, which raised significant security concerns. The applicant did not provide sufficient evidence of timely filing or payment arrangements for his tax obligations, specifically for tax year 2021.

Ultimately, the applicant's financial difficulties were not adequately addressed or mitigated. His attempts to resolve the tax issues only began after he was notified of the security concerns, leading to the denial of his security clearance.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant failed to file federal and state income tax returns for tax years 2018 through 2022, raising significant security concerns under Guideline F.
The applicant did not provide sufficient evidence of timely filing or payment arrangements for his tax obligations, particularly for tax year 2021.
The applicant's financial difficulties were not adequately addressed or mitigated, as he only attempted to resolve his tax issues after being notified of the security concerns.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(f)raisedFailure to File or Fraudulently Filing Annual Federal, State, or Local Income Tax Returns or Failure to Pay Annual Federal, State, or Local Income Tax as Required.

Key Rule Quoted

“A person who fails repeatedly to fulfill his or her legal obligations does not demonstrate the high degree of good judgment and reliability required of those granted access to classified information.”
— ISCR Case No. 14-01894 at 5 (App. Bd. Aug. 18, 2015)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedJul 11, 2024
Answer filedAug 3, 2024
Hearing held—Decision rendered after review of documentation.
Decision dateFeb 27, 2025

Cite For

Failure to File Tax Returns as a Disqualifying Condition Under Guideline F
Insufficient Mitigation of Financial Issues Leading to Denial of Security Clearance
Importance of Timely Resolution of Financial Obligations in Security Clearance Evaluations

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline F · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant failed to file his federal and state income tax returns for tax years 2018 through 2022, which raised significant financial concerns under Guideline F. Despite the applicant's claims of working to resolve these issues, the judge ruled against the applicant on all allegations, citing a lack of timely resolution and documentation.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant failed to file, in a timely manner, his federal and state income tax returns for tax years (TY) 2018 through 2022, and, as of the date of the SOR, they remained unfiled.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	—	—	—
1.b	Applicant admitted to failing to file his federal and state income tax returns for TY 2018 through 2021.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	—	—	—

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline F). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Full decision

The complete, official text — footnotes and signatures included — is in the original PDF.