What to do if you have not filed your returns for a while?

There are a number of people that have not filed for years. This creates a number of risks. If the federal or state governments believe that you owe them money, then they may take control of your bank account. They have the ability to either stop you from using your bank account or they may simply take your money.
Filing is worth it for a number of individuals. There are potential refunds in over-withholding and certain tax credits. There have been a number of people that have been to our firm and we wish we saw them earlier so we could get them their refunds.

We needed to see them earlier, since they missed their short window of opportunity to get a refund. According to the IRS rules, you have three years to file your returns. If you have an extension you have a little more time. For instance, April 15, 2020 is the last day to file your 2016 tax return to get a refund. If you filed an extension for 2016, then your deadline is October 15, 2020.

So what do you do to file, if you don’t have all of the information?

If you cannot collect all your paper tax files, you may not be out of luck. You can ask the federal and state governments for the information that they received on you. Professionals may use a power of attorney to get your wage and income filings from the IRS. They can also use a power of attorney to see what payments were made. The state is also readily available to share information on your withholding, extension and estimated payments made.

If you have a small business it is generally quicker to do a years-worth of data compiling in the end. There is usually one shortfall: check images. A number of banks will not allow you to see a picture of a check after a certain time period and may charge you to simple see a check that you wrote.

Please see a local tax preparer for help with your small business and personal needs before it is too late.