Maybe you've been dreading it, or maybe you've long since forgotten about it, but either way, the day arrives: the IRS notifies you that they noticed a bit of a slip-up involving some taxes you didn't file but should have.
And now they want the money owed, plus fees, fines, and interest.
Is there any hope? Yes: you can file past year tax returns online easily, and take advantage of many informative and useful services designed to help you deal with your past year tax issues.
For most people, just owing money to the IRS is bad enough -- owing them lots of money past when they expected it is far worse.
That's why it's so worrisome to file past year tax returns.
But it doesn't have to be.
The first thing to keep in mind is that missing your first chance to file is not especially rare.
The Tax Foundation estimates that fifteen million households and individuals file no tax return at all in a given year, and more than forty million returns (and more than ninety million taxpayers) will have a zero or negative tax liability.
So not only are you not alone, but you're probably better-off than you think.
When you decide to file late tax returns, the first thing to do is get organized: if you have records of your prior year's taxes, you should have them on hand.
You'll also want to have available any correspondence you've had with the IRS, including any notice they've given you of past year tax money due.
After that, you can start preparing for that year's taxes.
Gather any pay stubs, bank statements, brokerage statements, or other financial information from that year (if you have a small business, this will include information on the activities of that business).
This activity is mostly to make sure you have information on hand, but there's a secondary bonus: as you gather the information you need, you get an idea of the scope of the problem, but you've also established some momentum in solving it.
Once you have all the data you need, you can get ready to file your past year tax returns.
Many websites can help guide you through the process.
The basic procedure is similar to when you normally file your taxes.
The only difference is that you'll need to file using a past year tax return document (your 1040 needs to be dated for the year for which you file, not the current year).
You may also need to answer more questions, or offer some details you don't normally need to include.
Fortunately, the extra information you need to file will generally be included in the past year tax documents you collected earlier.
It can be tempting to rush when you file ast year tax returns, but it's a bad idea.
It's certainly not pleasant to find that you're still accumulating fines and interest because of a mistake you made trying to settle earlier errors.
Since many tax professionals don't focus on the specifics of how to file past year taxes, you may want to turn to a service or site that focuses on this area.
Years ago, that would have been a difficult service to find, but the increasing number of online tax preparers has greatly simplified the market.
If you need to file past year taxes online, it will be trivially easy to find a site with the experts and tax professionals you need to get the job done right.
And now they want the money owed, plus fees, fines, and interest.
Is there any hope? Yes: you can file past year tax returns online easily, and take advantage of many informative and useful services designed to help you deal with your past year tax issues.
For most people, just owing money to the IRS is bad enough -- owing them lots of money past when they expected it is far worse.
That's why it's so worrisome to file past year tax returns.
But it doesn't have to be.
The first thing to keep in mind is that missing your first chance to file is not especially rare.
The Tax Foundation estimates that fifteen million households and individuals file no tax return at all in a given year, and more than forty million returns (and more than ninety million taxpayers) will have a zero or negative tax liability.
So not only are you not alone, but you're probably better-off than you think.
When you decide to file late tax returns, the first thing to do is get organized: if you have records of your prior year's taxes, you should have them on hand.
You'll also want to have available any correspondence you've had with the IRS, including any notice they've given you of past year tax money due.
After that, you can start preparing for that year's taxes.
Gather any pay stubs, bank statements, brokerage statements, or other financial information from that year (if you have a small business, this will include information on the activities of that business).
This activity is mostly to make sure you have information on hand, but there's a secondary bonus: as you gather the information you need, you get an idea of the scope of the problem, but you've also established some momentum in solving it.
Once you have all the data you need, you can get ready to file your past year tax returns.
Many websites can help guide you through the process.
The basic procedure is similar to when you normally file your taxes.
The only difference is that you'll need to file using a past year tax return document (your 1040 needs to be dated for the year for which you file, not the current year).
You may also need to answer more questions, or offer some details you don't normally need to include.
Fortunately, the extra information you need to file will generally be included in the past year tax documents you collected earlier.
It can be tempting to rush when you file ast year tax returns, but it's a bad idea.
It's certainly not pleasant to find that you're still accumulating fines and interest because of a mistake you made trying to settle earlier errors.
Since many tax professionals don't focus on the specifics of how to file past year taxes, you may want to turn to a service or site that focuses on this area.
Years ago, that would have been a difficult service to find, but the increasing number of online tax preparers has greatly simplified the market.
If you need to file past year taxes online, it will be trivially easy to find a site with the experts and tax professionals you need to get the job done right.