Don’t Let Your Back Tax Returns Snowball

Dec 05, 2014 By Evan Nielsen In Taxation No Comment Tags : , ,

Maybe you didn’t file last year’s tax return because you didn’t have the ability to pay your tax bill, or you couldn’t find all your receipts. Now you feel like you’ve painted yourself into a corner. You can’t file this year because you because you think the interest and penalties are going to make the amount owed even worse. Or if you couldn’t find all your receipts last year, they’re even further down the rabbit hole a year later. Don’t let your failure to file your tax returns snowball.

 

Negative Consequences for Failing to File

 

There are several negative repercussions for failing to file your tax returns.

 

  • Interest and Penalties – if it is determined that you owe taxes for the years where no return is filed, interest and penalties continue to accrue until payment is made

 

  • Social Security Benefits – if you are self-employed and do not file a tax return, no social security credits will be reported to the Social Security Administration and you will not receive credit towards your retirement or disability benefits

 

  • Substitute Return – the IRS has the ability to file a substitute return for you. The return filed by the Agency may not give you all the tax deductions or credits to which you may be entitled

 

  • Collection Actions – any tax liability created by a substitute return can be the subject of collection efforts. You could become the target of wage garnishment or a levy on your bank account

 

  • Criminal Charges – continued and repeated failures to file can lead to criminal charges filed against you

 

Steps to Filing Back Tax Returns

 

Don’t let the possible negative repercussions keep you from filing. There are a few steps you can take to get square with the IRS.

 

  • Obtain prior year’s tax forms
  • Gather back receipts, W-2’s or other supporting records
  • If you are missing documents, you can request copies from the IRS for up to ten years back. The IRS will have data regarding wages, withholding taxes, unemployment compensation or any other taxable income

 

If you have outstanding, un-filed tax returns, don’t let interest and penalties continue to stop you from filing. Nielsen Law Group and its experienced professionals can assist you in preparing and filing all your back returns. Call (480) 888-7111 or submit a web request here.