I am 19 years old, and have never filed taxes. Where do I begin?

Question

Thanks for looking. I started working at 16 and have never filed taxes. My first year i made approximately 12,000 or less working a part time job. The second year was around the same working another part time job. What can I do? Will I get in trouble? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Depends on what you mean by "get in trouble". Will you owe some money? Maybe. Will you go to jail? No. If you made around $12K each of those years, you were required to file.

Did you get a W-2 for those jobs? If so, you probably won't owe much if anything - but eventually the IRS will be writing to you about not filing if you owe - if they owe you, you probably won't hear anything. The income was reported to them by your employer, but it can take a year or more for them to send out the letters. If you had taxes withheld, you might even be due a refund - if that's the case, you can still get it for tax years back to 2004, but will lose it unless you file. There won't be any penalties for filing late if you have a refund coming.

Your best bet is to fill out tax returns for those years (using the proper year's forms and instructions - download at irs.gov) and see where you stand, then get them filed.

If you were working as an independent contractor, you could owe quite a bit of taxes, but it's not going to get any better if you keep putting it off, since penalties and interest will keep accumulating.

Answer 2

First off, ignore the IDIOT "jasonallen347." He's a classic "Tax Kook" of the worst order. His advice will get you in serious trouble with the govenment eventually. At the very least, his idiotic advice will cost you YOUR money. In the worst case, the Tax Kooks will cost you your FREEDOM!

You need to file the missing returns ASAP.

With $12k in income, you were clearly over the filing requirement amount. More than likely you had taxes withheld from that pay, almost certainly more than your tax liability. That's why the IRS hasn't been in touch -- they owe YOU money. Until you file, they'll happily keep YOUR money and if you don't file within 3 years of the filing deadline for the tax year in question, YOUR money will be forever forfeit to the government.

You can get the forms and instructions for the current and prior tax years at the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov or you could consult with a qualified tax professional. There's no cost to do it yourself, and with limited wages and a simple return there's little reason to pay someone else to prepare the returns.

There won't be any penalties for late filing as long as you don't owe or are receiving a refund. But YOUR money won't be returned to you until you do file.

Answer 3

Ok Kevin...here is an answer to your question from a certified tax professional. If you earn over a certain amount the you are considered self employed and then yes you will need to file taxes. Your mom cannot claim you as a dependent unless she is paying the rent, utilities and helping you live. If she does not do any of this for you then she is breaking the law by fraudulently filing. Please keep records of all sales and go to your local irs or tax office and ask them.

Answer 4

first, educate yourself to see if you should be classified as a "taxpayer" or a "non-taxpayer". this can easily be done to see if you are actually liable for any federal graduated income taxes as specified in the USC Title 26. Read it. pay close attention to the definitions. What do the TERMS, "employee", "Employer", "Gross Income", "Income", "Wages" etc mean? The answers to these terms, not words as you or I normally use them, but terms with definitions as congress has defined them, are the answer to find out whether you actually are liable in the first place. if you are not an 'employee', don't make 'income' or 'wages' and do not work for an 'employer' then you are not the person that the tax code is speaking of.

Call or email dave champion. for a small fee he will help you understand all of it. i recommend reading and doing a little research first. Check out the Education page on the first website to try to help you determine if you are liable, a "taxpayer", or not.

The second can help you live peacefully if you are not liable, otherwise known as a "non-taxpayer"

http://www.originalintent.org
http://www.nontaxpayer.org

Also listen to some of the radio feeds from

http://www.americanradioshow.us/archive....

to learn more. do a little reseach and find out if you are even liable for the graduated income tax, as not everyone who works is liable. also check out Aaron Russo's scathing documentary on google video titled, Freedom to Fascism

Answer 5

Jeeze, you poor thing. Im only 16 and I have always wondered that, I know someone though who can help you because no one is usually in the subject.

I'll keep looking in becuase I would even like to know.

This is here profile, email her.
I will too to let her know that you need help, shes a great person and would know.
http://answers.yahoo.com/my/profile;_ylt=An9IcgFijkUiOekPXKOJR3nsy6IX?show=AA10421992

Answer 6

if this is ur yearly income & u have no other source of income & ur total annual income is less than Rs. 100000/- than u r not liable to pay tax.

Answer 7

Nah... the government don't really care if you pay tax or not. lol