Friend has not filed any taxes since her divorce 15 yrs ago. Recommendations on where to go or who can help her to get this handled? She also does not have all her W2's for those years. She lives near Madison, Wisconsin.
2007-04-12 03:00:12 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ Other - Taxes
Hello, mommag! Your friend probably needs to get in touch with a professional tax preparer with substantial experience; filing tax returns back that far will potentially involve a great deal of research to make sure the returns are filed in accordance with the then-current tax laws, and your average seasonal tax preparer won't be up to the task.
A qualified tax professional can help your friend contact former employers, banks, etc (or even the IRS directly) to retrieve prior year income information. If she hasn't been contacted by the IRS in 15 years, it is quite possible that she has been over-withholding from her paychecks, in which case she'll only be able to get refunds back to 2004 (or 2003, if she managed to get the return filed by 4/17/07).
The services might cost her now, but in the long run it will be worth it to know that her tax situation has been competently brought up to date. Props for helping your friend get caught up! :-)
2007-04-12 05:59:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd call a CPA, but I'd wait until after the April 17 tax deadline since they're awfully busy right now. She should gather whatever info she has, and if she doesn't have W-2's for some years, should write down where she worked if she knows that info, also write down any other income she had that she remembers. A CPA will know what questions to ask her. This is somewhat beyond the typical H&R Block employee, so she should not go someplace like that or Jackson Hewitt.
If she hasn't heard from the IRS about not filing, it's possible that either she wasn't required to file for those years or had a refund coming. Refunds farther back than 3 years will be forfeited. In any case, she's not the first person to be in this situation so shouldn't be panicked. If she owes for any of those years, she'll have to pay the back taxes plus penalties and interest, but with a little luck, maybe she doesn't owe or at least doesn't owe much.
2007-04-12 12:53:01 · answer #2 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jail
2007-04-12 10:07:56 · answer #3 · answered by High on Life!!! 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Tell her to run.....because soon, the IRS will be coming after her with big penalties & possibly some jail time.
2007-04-12 16:23:30 · answer #4 · answered by sugarBear 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Better move to Mexico.
2007-04-12 10:03:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋