I claimed exempt on taxes. Now i received a letter about 3 years of not filing? SCARED STIFF!!!?

Question

I received a letter a couple days ago from the gov about 3 years of unfiled taxes. I've never made over 5000 a year from part time jobs. I've always been a full time student and my parents still claim me on their taxes. What should be my next step

Answer 1

First of all, CALM DOWN! You very possibly don't owe anything, and might even have a refund coming if you had any taxes withheld.

If you never made over $5000 a year, you might not even owe anything depending on how the money was made. If it was all as an employee with a W-2 issued at the end of the year, you're probably OK.

Did the letter have numbers on it as to what they think you owe, or why they think you should have filed? The letter should have told you what to do from here. The letter should have a phone number on it - you could call them and ask what needs to be done to clear this, since you don't think you were required to file for those years.

I'm assuming that this letter came from the IRS. If it was from your state, it's possible that you do owe something - state laws are all different, and some require you to file even if you don't owe.

Good luck, and feel free to email me if you don't get this resolved easily.

By the way, some of the answers above are incorrect.

Answer 2

There is a possibility that she is worrying over nothing. As a married couple filing jointly and no other dependants, the filing requirement is around $16,000.00 (for 2006 a little more for 2007 a little less for 2005) so unless she made more than that there IS no tax consequence. Either way the local police could care less about her income tax issue. it is best that she file her returns for her sake, but no one is come knocking on her door if she does not. She can obtain other ID's easily enough. If it was a Joint account there is nothing she can do about the lost money. Also if he did call the IRS he is an idiot because he is as liable as she is for the taxes that were not paid.

Answer 3

You can just go ahead and file the past 3 years of tax returns--that's what I would do. You will probably not even owe any taxes or penalties since you are most likely due a refund for those years anyway.

You can download the forms from the IRS website for the past 3 years and just mail them in. My older children always filled out a 1040EZ when they were in school and had part-time jobs. They always got refunds too of anything paid out in taxes. If you claimed exempt it's very likely that you will break even and not owe the gov't anything---they just need to see the returns though so don't panic or worry about anything! I think you will be fine.
.

Answer 4

You will be fine. It has been years ago, but I was in a similar situation. On the letter, they told you what you would need to do. You may need to prove the amount you made during the 3 years, and you may need to be able to dispute a document.

You said you were a student. With certain federal fundings, you are required to file taxes even if you are exempt. Did you pay taxes on the money you earned (the $5k)? If so, you may be due a refund.

Do not be scared. You will be fine. Just follow the steps outlined in the letter.

Answer 5

You can't claim exempt on your taxes. You can claim exempt when filling out your W-4, but that only effects your withholding. In most cases when your parents claim you on their taxes, they are simply taking your $3,300 (2006) exemption. This doesn't prevent you from having to file. If you've had withholding you should probably file anyway to get a refund. However, for 2006, you only have a filing requirement if you have over $5,150 of earned income. Being a student doesn't really matter unless you have paid tuition or interest on student loans. Sorry.

Answer 6

OK...because your parents claimed you, you were not exempt from paying or filing taxes...if you paid no income taxes from you paycheck then you do owe money now. Your parents recieved the benefit from you being a full time student, not you.

In 2007 if you were single and you made between $0 and $7825 then you owed 10% of your income to the government in taxes. I suggest you get your W-2s from your employer/s for the last 3 years and ask your parents to get you an accountant (you are going to need to file ammended returns for the last 3 years...that can be kind of complicated).

If you are working right now PLEASE go into work today and fill out a new W4 and claim S-0. Since you cannot claim yourself on your taxes you need income taxes taken out of your income!!!

Answer 7

Do what the letter said to do. Don't ignore the letter. Don't just file the missing returns, unless they tell you to do that.
Don't be scared stiff. You are not going to jail. At worst you may owe some money. At best, you may get a refund, if tax was witheld.

Answer 8

next step is fill out and file those last 3 years of tax returns. At the least you'll find out if you owe the irs anything.

Answer 9

Contact the IRS and get all of your paperwork together. You may want to contact an accountant to help you make sure that you have everything in order. Don't wait on this take care of it as soon as possible. You don't want to piss off the tax man.

Answer 10

My brother didn't file for a period of time and when he finally did he got $2500.00. If you owe them you get penalties and interest added. But if they owe you you'll just get the money you were due.