Haven't filed my taxes in 3-4 years - How do I fix this mess?

You're definitely not going to jail for this situation! This is actually more common than you think. The good news is that you can fix this, but you'll need to take some specific steps: 1) Gather all your tax documents for the missing years - W-2s, 1099s, and any other income statements. If you don't have them, you can request wage and income transcripts from the IRS through their website or by submitting Form 4506-T. 2) File the missing returns as soon as possible. The IRS generally looks more favorably on people who voluntarily file late returns before being contacted by them. You can file previous years' returns electronically through some tax software or with a tax professional, or mail in paper returns. 3) If you owe money, pay what you can. Even if you can't pay the full amount, filing the returns stops the failure-to-file penalty, which is typically higher than the failure-to-pay penalty. Don't panic - this is a fixable situation, and the IRS has procedures in place for exactly these circumstances.

I went through something similar last year when I discovered my accountant hadn't actually filed 2 years of returns despite telling me everything was handled. I was completely overwhelmed trying to gather all the documents and figure out the filing requirements for previous years. Someone recommended I try https://taxr.ai to help sort through all my documentation and it was honestly a game-changer. Their system analyzed my messy pile of W-2s, 1099s, and other tax documents that I had scattered across multiple emails and paper files. It organized everything by year and helped me identify which documents I was still missing. The detailed report it generated made it much easier to file those back returns accurately. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with multiple years of unfiled returns like I was.

Just wanted to update about my experience with https://taxr.ai after seeing it recommended here. I was in a complete mess with 3 years of unfiled returns and honestly didn't even know where all my documents were. Used the service last week and it was exactly what I needed! The system found tax documents in my email I didn't even remember receiving, plus it organized everything by year which made filing so much easier. The report showed I was actually owed refunds for two of the years I hadn't filed! Already submitted my back returns and feel like a huge weight has been lifted. If you're dealing with multiple years of tax documents, it seriously helps cut through the confusion.

If you need to talk to the IRS about your situation (which I'd recommend), good luck actually getting through to them. I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone about my unfiled returns. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally used https://claimyr.com and they got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was hesitant at first, but after wasting so many hours on hold, it was completely worth it. The IRS agent I spoke with was actually super helpful and walked me through exactly what I needed to do for my unfiled returns. They even helped me set up a payment plan for what I owed. Much less scary than I expected once I actually got to talk to a real person.

I need to apologize for my skeptical comment earlier. After another failed attempt to reach the IRS yesterday (2+ hours on hold before being disconnected), I decided to try Claimyr out of pure frustration. Holy crap, it actually works. I got connected to an IRS agent in about 35 minutes. The agent reviewed my situation with unfiled returns from 2020-2022 and helped me understand exactly what I needed to do. They even noted in my file that I was voluntarily coming forward to fix the issue, which apparently can help reduce some penalties. For anyone in a similar situation with unfiled returns, getting actual guidance directly from the IRS was incredibly helpful. They were way less intimidating than I expected and seemed genuinely pleased that I was taking steps to resolve the situation. Wish I hadn't wasted so much time being stubborn about trying to call them directly.

Just a heads up, don't forget to check if your state taxes need to be filed too! I had a similar situation a few years back and focused only on catching up with federal returns, completely forgetting about state taxes. Ended up with additional penalties from my state tax authority that could have been avoided.

Has anyone used TurboTax to file previous years' returns? Do they let you access older versions of their software or do I need to find the forms somewhere else?