Is there a statute of limitations on back taxes? Like, if they haven't contacted me about unfiled taxes from 10 years ago, am I in the clear?

There's no statute of limitations for unfiled tax returns - the IRS can come after you at any time for returns that were never filed. However, once you do file, the general statute of limitations is 3 years for the IRS to audit or assess additional taxes (this extends to 6 years if you underreported your income by more than 25%). For refunds, you only have 3 years from the original due date to claim them. After that time passes, you lose the refund forever, even if you were owed money. That's why it's important to file, even years later - at minimum to start the statute of limitations clock and potentially claim refunds that aren't yet time-barred.

I used H&R Block for 4 years of back taxes and it was SO expensive - like $350 per year! In retrospect I should've just used software. Especially since they made a mistake on one of my returns that I had to fix anyway. Just make sure whatever you use has the right forms for your situation.

Some people can't open regular bank accounts due to ChexSystems records or past banking issues. Also, many online banks still require an initial deposit from an existing bank account, creating a catch-22. Not everything that seems obvious is actually accessible to everyone.

My cousin works for the IRS (not speaking officially of course) and says they generally don't have the resources to go after small personal transfers unless there's a clear pattern of business activity. They're looking for people running side hustles and not reporting the income, not people splitting bills or helping family members. Document everything just in case, but don't lose sleep over it.

How did you handle bigger home repairs or improvements? Did you split those based on ownership percentage too? We're having trouble figuring out how to track all this stuff for taxes.

For major home repairs and improvements, we do split those according to our ownership percentages (65/35). We track everything in a shared spreadsheet and keep all receipts. For tax purposes, most home improvements aren't immediately deductible but get added to your cost basis, which reduces any potential capital gains tax when you sell. The only exception is if you're making energy-efficient improvements that qualify for tax credits - in that case, we each claim the percentage of the credit that matches our ownership split. Our separate contributions to the joint house account are clearly documented with memo lines specifying what they're for, which makes everything traceable if we ever got audited.

Not necessarily! Even with the higher standard deduction, there are still cases where itemizing makes sense, especially in high tax areas or with expensive homes. For my partner and I, one of us itemizes while the other takes the standard deduction. Also, some states allow you to itemize on your state return even if you take the standard deduction federally, so the property tax and mortgage interest can still save you money at the state level. Definitely worth running the numbers both ways!

Thanks for clarifying! I hadn't considered the state tax angle at all. We're in California which has high property taxes, so I guess that could push one or both of us over the threshold for itemizing. And it's a good point about one person itemizing and one taking standard - I hadn't thought about us doing different approaches.

Thanks for this suggestion! Unfortunately my state doesn't have paid family leave, and my company is definitely too small for FMLA (we only have 12 employees). I did check into short-term disability but was told I would have needed to enroll before becoming pregnant. It's frustrating how few options there are for maternity leave in small businesses.

That's really tough. Another option might be to negotiate a flexible arrangement with your employer that doesn't involve unemployment fraud. Maybe you could work reduced hours remotely during part of your leave, use any accumulated PTO, or spread a reduced salary over a longer period. Many small businesses work out these kinds of arrangements. Remember that while what they're suggesting might seem helpful, they're asking you to take all the risk. If unemployment investigates (which they often do), you'd be the one who filled out a fraudulent application, not your employer.

What did you end up doing instead? I'm in a similar situation now and feel stuck between no income or doing something that might be illegal.

Thanks for this advice! I was so focused on the payment aspect that I wasn't thinking clearly about filing on time. Do you know approximately how long after filing it takes for the new tax debt to show up in their system? And is there any advantage to e-filing versus paper filing in this situation?

E-filing is definitely the way to go in your situation. When you e-file, the new tax assessment typically appears in the IRS system within 2-3 weeks, compared to 6-8 weeks or longer for paper filing. That faster processing gives you the advantage of being able to address the modification sooner. As for the "One-Time Skip" provision, it's technically called a Reinstatement and is available if you haven't defaulted on an installment agreement in the past 12 months. Not all phone representatives are familiar with it, so you might need to politely ask to speak with someone in the collections department who can help with reinstating a defaulted installment agreement.

That's really interesting, I've never heard of a tiered agreement before. Did you have to provide any financial statements or proof of hardship to qualify for this? Or is it something they offer to everyone?