Americans owe over $114 billion in back taxes, penalties, and interest. This means that millions of Americans have either failed to pay their taxes entirely, or they have underpaid their taxes due to calculation errors or hiding income.
People fall behind on their taxes for a number of different reasons, but no matter what your reasons are, you still need to pay them. If you’re feeling the heat because of unfiled tax returns, then you’re probably wondering what you can do to make things right with the IRS. Read on to get help with your unfiled income tax returns.
- IRS Statute of Limitations on Unfiled Tax Returns
The IRS has a number of rules that apply to Americans who owe several years of back taxes. IRS Policy Statement 5-133 is a rule that states that taxpayers who file six years of back taxes will be in good standing. This means that it may be possible for you to only have to manage six years of back taxes, even if you owe more than that.
There are some instances, however, where you may be required to pay more than six years of back taxes. This means that the first thing you must do when you decide to pay your back taxes is to confirm the number of years you owe.
- Hire an Attorney
If you have many years of back taxes to pay, or if the amount you owe is too much for you to manage, then it’s important to hire a tax attorney like those at Silver Tax Group to represent you in your dealings with the IRS.
Tax attorneys know the ins and outs of the tax code, and they have years of experience working with the IRS. Their knowledge can mean the difference between paying tens of thousands of dollars instead of thousands.
- Look Into Penalty Abatement
The IRS levies stiff penalties if you don’t pay your taxes. At a minimum, expect to have 5% of your unpaid taxes to be tacked on to your balance every month.
The IRS isn’t completely unreasonable, however. They know that some people need some help in order to catch up on back taxes. When you ask for penalty abatement, you’re essentially asking the IRS not to charge you for things like failure to pay or balance-due penalties.
Generally, penalty abatement is available for first-time applicants. If you’ve had it before, you will need to make a reasonable cause argument to get relief.
Are You Dealing with Unfiled Tax Returns?
Having unfiled tax returns is a scary position to be in; you don’t know if the IRS is going to come after you or if you can make things right. The best thing you can do in this situation is to find a tax attorney for unfiled tax returns help. With a little elbow grease, you’ll be square with the IRS before you know it!
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