Haven't filed taxes in 10 years - how screwed am I with the IRS at this point?

Look, your situation isn't as uncommon as you might think. The good news is that the IRS generally only looks back 6 years for most cases, though technically there's no statute of limitations if you never filed. Your best move is to get current first - file your most recent tax years immediately (at least the last 3 years). For those older years with 1099 income, you'll need to request wage and income transcripts from the IRS, which will show what was reported to them under your SSN. This will help reconstruct what you earned even without your original paperwork. Don't be too alarmed about not hearing from them. The IRS has been severely understaffed for years, and if your W-2 withholding at your current job has been sufficient, you might not have triggered any red flags in their automated systems. Definitely consult with a tax professional - but consider a CPA or Enrolled Agent who specializes in back taxes rather than jumping straight to an attorney (unless you're concerned about criminal issues, which is unlikely for your situation).

I was in a similar situation about 2 years ago (hadn't filed for 7 years with some 1099 work mixed in). I tried handling it myself at first but got completely overwhelmed with reconstructing all my records. Eventually found https://taxr.ai which was seriously a game-changer for my situation. What worked for me was uploading what little documentation I had plus my IRS transcripts, and their system actually reconstructed my tax situation for all those missing years. The best part was that it analyzed what I could claim for legitimate deductions even years later - turns out I had some business expenses from that 1099 work I hadn't even considered. Their tax pros helped me file everything properly and even handled communication with the IRS. Might be worth checking out since they specialize in this exact unfiled returns situation.

Just wanted to come back and say I took the advice about https://taxr.ai and it's been a HUGE relief. I was in the exact same boat (multiple years unfiled, missing documents, constant anxiety). Their system helped me reconstruct 8 years of tax returns even though I had almost zero documentation. The analysis showed I was actually due refunds for 3 of those years! For the years I did owe, they got me on a monthly payment plan that's actually manageable. The biggest thing was just the mental relief of not having this hanging over me anymore. Worth every penny just to not wake up at 3am panicking about the IRS anymore.

One thing nobody's mentioned - if you do need to talk to the IRS directly (which you probably will at some point), good luck actually reaching a human. I spent MONTHS trying to get through to resolve my back tax issues. After wasting hours on hold just to get disconnected, I found https://claimyr.com which is basically a service that waits on hold with the IRS for you. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They called me back when they had an actual IRS agent on the line. Saved me literally hours of hold time and frustration. Just sharing because dealing with back taxes is stressful enough without the added nightmare of trying to actually reach someone at the IRS.

Coming back to eat my words about Claimyr. I was the skeptic who thought it sounded like BS, but I was desperate after trying for 3 weeks to reach someone about my unfiled tax years. Used the service yesterday and I'm legitimately shocked at how well it worked. Got a call back in about 45 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line, and then I was connected directly to solve my issue. No identity problems because I was the one actually talking to the IRS. Saved me from wasting another day on hold only to get disconnected. For anyone dealing with unfiled returns - being able to actually talk to someone at the IRS without the hold time nightmare made a huge difference in resolving my situation.

One important thing to know - if you were OWED refunds for any of those years, you can only claim refunds going back 3 years. So if you were due money from the IRS for some of those years, that money is unfortunately gone. BUT if you OWED money, they can come after you for all of it, plus penalties and interest. It's a one-way street that favors them. My advice? Pull your free transcripts from the IRS website first to see what income was reported under your SSN before doing anything else. That will give you a clearer picture of what you're dealing with.

If ur worried about criminal charges dont be. The IRS almost never pursues criminal tax evasion unless ur hiding millions or deliberately committing fraud. What ur describing is just failure to file which is bad but not criminal bad. Just get those returns filed ASAP and be honest about everything. If u cant pay what u owe right away, the IRS is actually pretty reasonable about payment plans. The interest and penalties suck but its better than continuing to hide from them.

Hey Butch, I totally get the panic - I was in almost the exact same situation about 3 years ago. Hadn't filed for 8 years due to a mix of 1099 work confusion and then just pure avoidance. The good news is it's way more fixable than your anxiety is telling you right now. A few things that might help ease your mind: First, the fact that you've been claiming zero deductions on your W-4 for 6 years is actually huge in your favor. You've likely been overpaying taxes this whole time, which means some of those years you might not even owe anything (or could have been due refunds). Second, the reason you haven't heard from the IRS isn't necessarily weird - their systems are incredibly backlogged and if your current job withholding has been covering your tax liability, you might not have triggered their automated collection notices. My advice: Start with getting your wage and income transcripts from the IRS website (it's free and won't trigger anything). This will show you exactly what income was reported under your SSN for all those years. Then you'll have a much clearer picture of what you're actually dealing with instead of just imagining worst-case scenarios. You've got this - it's scary but totally manageable once you start taking action.