Jack Levy CPA & Accountant, Albany NY
Certified Tax Resolution Specialist
Call Us for Free Consultation For All Your Tax Problems,
Including Back Taxes, Payroll Taxes And Unfiled Returns.
 What are delinquent tax returns (unfiled taxes) or delinquent taxes (back taxes)?
A delinquent return is a tax return that has not been filed (unfiled taxes) and the return due date or the extension due date has expired. Similarly, delinquent taxes are back taxes that have not been paid and the due date for payment has passed. Many people call and ask our help because they are afraid the I.R.S. is going to put them in jail for not filing their back tax returns or for not paying their delinquent taxes. You should be relieved, because this is an unjustified fear. Failure to file a delinquent tax return by itself is not a criminal offense and the Service will not put anyone in jail. Similarly, failure to pay is not a crime for which one is sent to jail.
Delinquent Tax Returns Preclude Permanent Tax Relief.
It is very important to realize neither the I.R.S nor any state tax agency will grant any permanent tax relief for unpaid taxes or a levy unless all delinquent tax returns are filed. This is true whether the unpaid taxes are on income, payroll or sale tax.
Levy Action Against Persons With Unpaid Taxes.
A levy is an enforced collection action undertaken by tax authorities because the person involved is not communicating with the tax people. That is to say, the individual has not presented to the tax people a plan for meeting his or her unpaid tax obligations. Cooperation with the tax agencies is necessary to avoid enforced collection action in the form of a
levy. Cooperation is measured in part by the filing of all required delinquent tax returns.
Forfeiture of refunds for individuals with unpaid tax returns.
Many people who have delinquent returns also have tax refunds due to them. Their refunds will be lost if they do not file within 3 years of the due date of the return.
What periods and how much income is involved for paying back taxes?
It is always necessary to know for how many years' unfiled returns must be filed, and whether tax returns must be filed if the taxpayer has no income or low income. The answer is that all unfiled returns need to be filed and back taxes must be paid if the individual has income in excess of the minimum.
Even though the amount of the net income may fall below the minimum for paying income taxes, self- employed individuals may still need to file to report the self employment tax. The minimum or threshold for income tax changes each year and consists of the standard deduction and one
personal exemption for a single person. The threshold for reporting self employment income is currently $400.
For many people the thought of filing those old, past due, unfiled returns is daunting because they
have lost their records.
Lost records are not generally a major problem for filing unfiled returns. There are several ways to reconstruct records. We contact the IRS on behalf of our clients and we conduct a file review. We determine for what years taxes are owed and for what years returns are unfiled. We obtain extracts of income information from the I.R.S. files and we use that information as a point of departure to prepare those unfiled returns and to determine the amount of back taxes. We may use old bank statements and canceled checks or credit card statements to reconstruct
records.
File your unfiled returns to get any refunds that may be due you!
Remember, you may have a refund due to you. If the IRS is threatening collection action against you, your first step is to file all unfiled returns. Often when returns are filed there is no tax owed or the taxpayer has a refund coming!
Contact us for a free consultation and we will help you with your tax problems,
back taxes or unfiled returns.
Do not represent yourself. As you won’t go to court without an attorney.
The I.R.S. is your adversary in these matters.
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