Laws for Non-filers
Not filing your tax returns for a year or more, will undoubtedly alert the IRS and you will be classified as a non-filer. If you have acquired this status, you have IRS Problems. Whether you have not filed because you procrastinated, you did not have the money to pay the taxes you owed, or you just have chosen not to file, the IRS will catch up with you and you will pay the penalties.
IRS Procedure
The IRS uses a computerized Information Returns Program (IRP) to match W-2’s and 1099 reports to determine if taxpayers have submitted their returns. If it finds no match, it knows the taxpayer has not filed a return. Soon you will be receiving notices. If you ignore these, you will either receive a phone call or letter, a call or visit from a revenue agent, or possibly a visit from a special agent.
Charges
Criminal charges can be brought against you if you owe taxes and do not file a tax return. A fine can be assessed up to $25,000 per year and/or you can be sentenced to one year in prison for each year you failed to file.
Civil charges include penalties and interest that is assessed on the taxes you owe.
IRS Policy
The IRS usually does not pursue non-filers after 6 years of the filing date of the tax return. This does not mean that if you did not file a return 10 years ago you are off the hook. If you owed taxes, those taxes have been accruing both penalties and interest. Your tax debt is increasing quickly.
Steps to Take
To avoid criminal charges and/or to add to the civil charges, it is important to file your tax return even if it is late and even if you cannot pay the taxes you owe. Do this before the IRS becomes aware of your non-filing status. If you do not have the necessary documentation or tax returns you need, contact the IRS for this information. Remember, just filing your return will stop the penalties assessed for failure to file. Your tax debt will continue to increase with the addition of interest that is accruing though.
If you have not filed your tax return for multiple years, consider mailing each year separately and on different dates. The IRS will not be alerted of your non-filing status as easily if mailed this way. It is also important to mail your returns via certified mail so you will receive notification of receipt. Make sure you keep copies of all your correspondence with the IRS including the postage receipt.
For help with all your IRS Problems, contact our office. With our assistance you can resolve your IRS Problems and make plans for your future. Contact us today.
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Comments on Are You a Taxpayer with Unfiled Tax Returns?
I have not filed a tax return from 2003 to present. I have tried numberous times to file but the cost for each return has been to much for me. I went to the IRS several times and they told me that they could not help to prepare my taxes because I was filing for parts of my home/bills for expenses. I am in the real estate business and as you know the bottom has fallen out of this market. What can I do.
Desparate in Chicago
Beverly,
You might not like this answer but here it is. You can buy tax prep software like
Turbo Tax
from amazon.com or various other outlets online. You can find this software going back well into the 90s and it's surprisingly cheap. It literally follows a question and answer format and helps you to prepare a tax return.I'm not totally sure but I would imagine that your tax return would break down as follows:
You need a form 1040 (long form)
Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business)
Schedule SE (Self-Employment Tax)
It's probably that simple. If you don't want or can't afford to purchase the
Turbo Tax
software then you can always go to the IRS and download the forms and prepare the returns manually. Good Luck!!I am sorry to say I myself have not filed my taxes since 2005. I do need help but im scared to goto the irs for I might goto jail. I don't know how much I do owe and I want to take care of this. But I am scared I owe alot cause I did at one point have a home and lost it to foreclosure. I had no one that could help me and could not afford a attorney. Then I got in more trouble I got pregent with my son and I just never had the money to pay my taxes. Help please.
Hellow, I was wondering if you might be able to help. I never filed a tax return in 99 but have done so every year since then. Im quite sure I would receive a refund as I usually did when I was young and single. Will I get in trouble for not filing, and what steps should I take? I do not have a w2 for that year. Thanks
my son was a truck driver in 2003 when he got of the road his wife had left him an destroyed all his receipts for deductions for that year so he did not file that year. He has filed for the years after. IRS now takes most of his check, leaves him with $179.98. Everything after that they take.Is there anyway of estimating those deductions?
Yes, absolutely it is allowable to estimate his deductions given the circumstances. Will the IRS accept the return after they have filed a Substitute for Return for him is entirely a different question. But is his income remained relatively constant for the year or two prior and the year or two after, the IRS may very well accept that subsequently filed original return after they have prepared the Substitute for Return.