How can I file deliquent taxes? How much will I be fined?

Question

I have't filed taxes in about 4 years. The first two years I was in college. The first year I owed about 90 dollars. The second year the goverment owed me over 200 dollars. The past two years I've been working in S.Korea so I shouldn't owe any taxes. How can I file now and what should I expect in terms of fines? I really want to get back on track here. - U.S.A

Answer 1

I am assuming with the past 4 years that you are talking about 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003. 2006 you can file electronically, 2005, 2004 & 2003 you will need to paper file, but can download the proper forms from www.irs.gov. The past 2 years you may work worked in Korea, but you still might owe taxes. I have attached a link to the foreign income exclusion and also about irs penalties

Answer 2

I would start by filing 2004, 2005, and 2006. Those are the years that you would still be able to get a refund if one was owed. Your income in S. Korea will still be subject to US tax if you are a US citizen, however there could be an exclusion if you were out of the US for the required time. I can't advise you to forget about the years prior to 2004 because if my license to protect but I have had clients that did so and they never heard from the IRS. But you should take care of the past three years ASAP and use a tax professional familiar with foreign income exclusions.

Answer 3

Penalties for 2003 could add up to quite a bit by now, but they're based on what you owe, so if you only owed $90, it shouldn't be too bad. For 2004, you won't owe any penalties, and should still get your refund. You'll have to file the two years separately, but should break even or get a little back for the two years total.

You might or might not owe taxes for the time you were working in S. Korea, so don't just assume that you don't.