While in college I didn't work. I did get a scholarship. Didn't pay attention to the tax docs issued from those since I figured standard deductions would handle it, zero tax.
2005, did work some, very little. So again I thought standard deductions would make it zero tax liability. I assumed for 05 that no one was claiming me as a dependent. I found out this year, that was incorrect.
So how do I begin fixing this? I don't have any tax docs from before 05. How bad will penalties be?
2007-03-06 08:50:07 · 5 answers · asked by Paper M 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Penalties will depend on how much you owe. For years when you don't owe, there won't be any penalty. Not sure what "several" years means, or if you were required to file for all of them. And if you owe, besides any penalties, interest has been accumulating all this time. And penalties will continue to accumulate until you file.
The first thing to do would be to get all your tax info for those years together so you can figure out whether or not you needed to file for those years. If you don't have some of the older tax documents, request them from your employer or from the IRS.
2007-03-06 09:16:59 · answer #1 · answered by Judy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Prepare your 2005 return and file it. Simple as. If you have a refund coming there won't be any penalties. If you owe, there will be penalties for late filing and late payment of taxes.
If you didn't have any income in 2004 and earlier there's no need to file for those years.
2007-03-06 08:59:54 · answer #2 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You should contact the IRS and ask them how to rectify. You can do this anonymously, if you wish.
If they take a hard line, get a tax lawyer or a tax specialist to help you get this worked out.
2007-03-06 08:58:32 · answer #3 · answered by Jay 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Judy's answer is excellent. I would recommend trying to get information from your employers before the IRS. If you do owe, it can't hurt to know how much before doing something to get the attention of the IRS.
2007-03-06 11:07:05 · answer #4 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Your screwed. My friend didnt file for two years every month they add a 15% fee which really adds up. If you have no children you have no earned income to offset it. Suck it up, file it ,and make the payments they might not be that bad the longer you wait the worse.
2007-03-06 08:56:26 · answer #5 · answered by Amanda O 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋