I have not filed tax returns for about 10 years, where can I get help?

Question

I am afraid I am going to get in trouble and want help getting this fixed. Thanks

Answer 1

You may be ok. As long as you were entitled to refunds, the IRS doesn't charge you interest and penalties. Gather your information from the past five years. You'll need to go back to employers and get copies of W-2's. If you can't do that simply call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. They can get you copies and/or transcripts of your W-2's. Once you get them, take them to a tax professional. Have him/her prepare those five years and see what the end result is. The IRS will only issue refunds for the last three years. So anything 2003 and back, you can't receive if you are due refunds. However if you owe money, you have to file regardless of whether it's in the last three years. You'll have to mail all the returns to the IRS. After you do that, the IRS will mail you a bill for the penalty and interest if you had a balance due on any of those years. Good luck and I hope it turns out in the positive.

Answer 2

Generally, the IRS tracks the last 5 years of returns. If you have all your documentation, I would fill out returns for the last 5 years on 1040x to see if you owe anything. I didn't say file, I'm not giving tax advise to file or not. Just fill out the last 5 years to see if you owe anything. Should they go after you and you can prove that you don't owe any tax, you might have a chance in court. If you owe, that is different.

While it is law to file a tax return, I have never seen anyone convicted of not filing a return when the IRS owed a refund. I worked overseas for awhile and received a large "hazzard pay" amount that was taxed at a higher rate. Because the tax situation was so complex (part of the year was tax-free oversees contractor, and the years overlapped), I did not file. I was due a refund because that large payment was taxed at a much higher rate, but it was not worth my cost to file a return and have most, all, or even more of that refund eaten by the cost of difficult tax issues. As long as you can prove you don't owe anything, you should be safe. Since the amount removed from my income was so high in comparison to the the wages earned, the IRS did warn me about not filing, but dropped their pursuit quickly....They knew I had money coming back and didn't push the issue.

But, if you owe anything, you need to contact the IRS immediately. Many times, they will settle your balance due for a smaller amount if you are willing to pay it off.

Answer 3

Here is an even better question, did you make more than 30,000 a year any of those years that you did not file? If yes then get a lawyer.
If no, then were you married and have any children?
If yes you are probably fine and have no worries, by law you do not have to file if you do not owe any tax, although you may have been owed refunds you lost those after three years.
if no was your answer well again get an attorney and see what they have to say.
For more info go to www.freedomtofacism.com watch the movie and ask questions.

Answer 4

your are going to be in trouble
you are going to be hit with a failure to file penalty
a late filing penalty
and if taxes are due interest compunded from the date of taxes due
often the penalties and interest ared more than the original tax due,
also as another mentioned any refund due is going to be applied to penalties and interest
you can call them up and they can figure out an amount for you or you can file the taxes and see what develops
you'll get a white envelope ( never good, the brown evelopes are refunds, the white ones are amount(s) due to the IRS )

as for offer in compromise ( OIC ) that all depends on your income and assests, as to weather or not they accept it,don't believe the 10 cent on the dollar hype in those tax settlement frims with so called "enrolled" agents, if you owe you owe, you best best in payments ( they will determine the amount ).

the IRS can go back 10 years, and once contact is made the SOL is reset 10 years from the date fo contact. But they typically give a hard push at the end of a 10 year SOL ( in temrs of assest seizure, levy of wages or bank accounts )

Answer 5

Make an appointment with a CPA. Before your appointment, gather any tax paperwork you have for those years, and list where you worked.

If you worked on a W-2 all this time, you might not be as bad off as you think - you might have had refunds coming for those years. Even though it's too late to collect them for years before 2004, there still wouldn't be any penalties for late filing.
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If you owed during those years, then interest and penalties will continue to mount until you get the overdue amounts paid off.

The CPA can at least help you figure out where you stand.

Good luck.

Answer 6

2 topics. a million. Is the filing requirement. For a unmarried man or woman who isn't claimed as a depending, they can make $10750 in 2010 beforehand having a filing requirement. SSA retirement advantages are literally not considered. If he's married, yet might want to document MFS, the requirement drops to $3650 for 2010. If he's a depending, the requirement drops to $2350. 2. The letter from the IRS. The previous letter merely defined the above. the hot letter is announcing that the IRS has received training on a 1099 or 1098 that means his income is larger than the cutoff. person-pleasant ones: promoting stocks and bonds, even at a loss, the position the proceeds are better than the above threshhold. if so, he *does* have a filing requirement. Paying loan interest (reported on 1098) it really is a lot the IRS wonders the position he were given the money. if so, he can reply on the kind that he's using cheap charges. Have him deliver you a replica of the letter. He might want to favor to call the IRS to ask extra questions.

Answer 7

Unfiled tax returns are a serious problem. Non-Filers should take immediate action to get late returns filed. In general, the consequences for not filing tax returns are:

Penalties. If back taxes are owed, a delay in filing returns may result in penalty and interest charges that could drastically increase your tax bill.

Lost Refund. In order to receive a refund, all delinquent returns must be filed within 3 years of the due date. If you snooze, you lose…YOUR REFUND!

Lost Earned Income Credit. If you are entitled to the Earned Income Tax Credit, your late tax returns must be filed within 3 years of the due date in order to receive the credit.

Lost Social Security Benefits. If you are self-employed, you must file delinquent tax returns reporting self-employment income within three years of the due date in order to receive Social Security credits toward your retirement.

JAIL!!! Willful failure to file a tax return is a CRIME. Nonfilers of tax returns need to act quickly to avoid criminal prosecution for failure to file a tax return.

To remedy the situation, you should file all prior years tax returns that are due, regardless of whether or not full payment can be made with the return. Depending on your circumstances, nonfilers with late taxes may qualify for a payment plan or tax debt relief via an offer in compromise. Delay does not help your situation. If you are a non-filer with overdue tax returns, you need to file those late returns as quickly as possible.

However, due to the fact that there is a possibility of criminal prosecution, you should STRONGLY consider hiring an attorney to help you with prior years taxes and the filing of delinquent tax returns to protect your interests in the process.