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ISCR Case 24-01029 — CASE

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ISCR Case 24-01029

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

Case Profile
Decision Date9/5/2025
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Mark W. Harvey
Government Counsel: Allison O'Connell
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 61-year-old lead software engineer employed by a government contractor. The adjudicative guideline at issue was Guideline F, concerning financial considerations. The Statement of Reasons (SOR) alleged that the applicant failed to timely file his federal and state income tax returns for tax years 2016 through 2023, raising concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness.
During the proceedings, the applicant admitted to the allegations in the SOR and provided mitigating information. He explained that his failure to file was primarily due to a cancer diagnosis in 2017, which required extensive treatment and recovery time. He also cited personal challenges, including a home disaster that destroyed important documents and family issues involving his son. Although he acknowledged that he should have filed his tax returns, he maintained that he had no malicious intent and was withholding funds from his salary for taxes.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that the financial concerns were not mitigated. The judge found that the applicant's failure to file tax returns indicated a lack of organization and responsibility, which raised questions about his judgment and reliability. Despite the applicant's explanations and mitigating circumstances, the judge determined that the overall evidence did not support granting eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 24-01029

deniedSep 5, 2025· Hon. Mark W. Harvey· hearing

Summary

A 61-year-old lead software engineer was denied a security clearance under Guideline F, Financial Considerations. The denial stemmed from the applicant's failure to timely file federal and state income tax returns for tax years 2016 through 2023. This issue was explicitly cited in the Statement of Reasons, alleging non-compliance with tax obligations for this eight-year period.

The decision highlighted that the applicant did not provide sufficient justification for the prolonged delay in filing these tax returns, even by the time of the hearing. While mitigating circumstances were presented, they were not deemed sufficient to overcome the concerns raised.

Ultimately, the judge concluded that the applicant's financial issues, specifically the consistent failure to meet tax obligations, raised significant concerns regarding his reliability and trustworthiness. Compliance with tax requirements was emphasized as crucial for national security, leading to the denial of the security clearance.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant failed to timely file federal and state income tax returns for tax years 2016 through 2023.
The applicant did not provide sufficient justification for the delay in filing tax returns beyond the date of the hearing.
The applicant's financial issues raised significant concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

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

Mitigating

AG ¶ 20(b)rejectedConditions That Resulted in the Financial Problem Were Largely Beyond the Person’s ControlThe applicant did not establish that he acted responsibly under the circumstances.

Key Rule Quoted

“Failure to file tax returns suggests that an applicant has a problem with complying with well-established governmental rules and systems.”
— ISCR Case No. 01-05340 at 3 (App. Bd. Dec. 20, 2002)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedAug 20, 2024
Answer filedOct 28, 2024
Hearing heldJul 15, 2025via Microsoft Teams
Decision dateSep 5, 2025

Cite For

Failure to Timely File Tax Returns Under Guideline F
Impact of Financial Issues on Security Clearance Eligibility
Importance of Compliance with Tax Obligations in Security Clearance Determinations

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: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant failed to timely file his federal and state income tax returns for tax years 2016 through 2023, which raised significant financial concerns under Guideline F. Despite the applicant's claims of mitigating circumstances related to health issues and personal challenges, the judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that the failure to file taxes was not consistent with national security interests.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant failed to timely file as required his federal and state income tax returns for tax years (TY) 2016 through 2023.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	(f) failure to file / fraudulent filing of tax returns or unpaid tax	—	Claimed Other
1.b	Applicant failed to timely file as required his federal and state income tax returns for tax years (TY) 2016 through 2023.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	(f) failure to file / fraudulent filing of tax returns or unpaid tax	—	Claimed Other

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.