Dealing With Unfiled TaxReturns

Many people fail to file a tax return for one reason or another.  Then the next year they are afraid to file since they missed a year. This escalates until several years have passed without filing.  How to they get back in the system?

 

 

Most people worry about going to jail when they fail to file.  However, failing to file is not a criminal offense.  Refusing to file with intent to defraud the government, i.e. deliberately evading taxes to cheat the government, is a criminal offense, but most people fail to file simply due to one stressful situation or another.  The IRS will be happy to work with such a taxpayer to get straightened out and back on track.

First, the taxpayer will have to file his returns from 2003 forward.  Generally, the IRS will not require one to go earlier than that.  I can obtain the income records for those years to help the taxpayer in filing those returns.  After the returns are filed the IRS will calculate the interest and penalties due on each return.

After we know the total that you owe, an Offer in Compromise or Installment Agreement can be negotiated to retire the taxes.  In order to calculate the amount of the Offer or Installment Agreement, complete current financial data must be provided by the taxpayer.  During the process of preparing and filing the taxes and negotiating the Offer or Installment Agreement, the IRS will generally refrain from forced collection activity.