Let's say that a person was having trouble (i.e. a mental health issue, suicidal depression) when she was supposed to be filing for income taxes this year and therefor didn't get around to it. How does she go about resolving this now that she's mentally able to deal with the consequences?
2007-05-24 12:27:20 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Forget the fact that you are late...just file a return ASAP and make any payment that is due. You can even calculate the interest and penalty yourself...the formula is in the instructions.
Unless there is a fair amount of money involved, I wouldn't bother arguing a hardship case. Its probably more trouble than its worth. Just file the return and pay what's due. Shouldn't be a problem.
Any decent CPA should be able to help with this.
2007-05-24 12:31:16 · answer #1 · answered by AngiesHusband 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I have been a tax accountant for 27 years and in that time I have dealt with your exact situation many times, always successfully. You have a bona-fide "reasonable cause" excuse under the the Internal Revenue Code for filing late. Assuming you owe taxes (if you don't, filing late won't be a problem anyway provided you file within 2 years of the end of the tax year in question), the thing to do is to attach a sworn declaration (under penalty of perjury) setting forth your reasonable cause excuse and requesting that any statutory additions to your tax be abated (abated is the magic word you must use). Across the top of the 1040 form, page 1, write by hand that you have attached a reasonable cause affidavit to the return. This will aid the IRS when the return gets processed. Even if they assess penalties and interest, the abatement process can still take place because you have provided the sworn declaration. You can also get a declaration from one of your health care providers. If all else fails, contact the taxpayer advocate's office for your IRS region. They can push the abatement through on an expedited basis.
2007-06-01 06:42:28 · answer #2 · answered by Steve C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All you have to do is download the forms from the IRS website and go ahead and file your taxes. If you are due a refund, there will be no penalty for filing late--if you owe money then there will be penalities and interest owed on top of what you owe in taxes.
If you feel up to it now, I would go ahead and file your return as soon as possible. Maybe a friend will help you so there is not so much stress involved. And, if you owe a lot of money, you can always request a payment plan with the IRS if you don't have the full amount to pay right now.
Hang in there!
2007-05-24 21:05:38 · answer #3 · answered by MarineMom 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
File as soon as possible. If she has a refund coming, there won't be any penalty. If she owes, there will be penalties and interest, but if she doesn't let it go too long, they shouldn't be all that much.
2007-05-24 21:36:20 · answer #4 · answered by Judy 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
contact irs and schedule your extension (if you can) just remember the person will have to pay penalties for every day they do not file.
2007-06-01 17:06:50 · answer #5 · answered by yourguessisasgoodasyours 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋