How do I catch up on unfiled tax years after health issues?

First, I'm glad to hear you're doing better health-wise! Don't panic about the unfiled taxes - this is a fixable situation and the IRS actually has processes in place for people in your situation. Here's what you need to do to catch up on those unfiled years: 1) Gather all your tax documents for each unfiled year (W-2s, 1099s, etc.). If you don't have them, you can request wage and income transcripts from the IRS using Form 4506-T or through the IRS website. 2) File the returns in chronological order, starting with the oldest (2022). You'll need to use the tax forms specific to each tax year - don't use 2025 forms for prior years. 3) You can use tax preparation software that offers prior year returns, or download the forms directly from IRS.gov. 4) If you're owed refunds, you can still claim them for up to 3 years from the original filing deadline, so you're still within that window. 5) If you owe taxes, you'll face some penalties and interest, but the IRS offers payment plans if you can't pay in full. The most important thing is to file ASAP to stop additional penalties from accruing. The failure-to-file penalty is typically larger than the failure-to-pay penalty.

I was in a similar situation last year (unfiled returns for 3 years) and I used taxr.ai to help me get organized. The website https://taxr.ai saved me so much stress because it can analyze all your tax documents and figure out what you're missing for each year. The most helpful part was that it could look at bank statements and identify potential deductions I missed from when I was self-employed during that period. It organized everything by tax year and helped me understand what forms I needed to file for each year. Made the whole process way less overwhelming.

Just wanted to update that I actually tried taxr.ai after my skeptical comment. Wow, it was a game changer for my situation. I was missing 1099s from two clients that I had completely forgotten about, and it found potential home office deductions I didn't realize I qualified for during my freelance period. I was able to get all my back taxes filed in about a week once I had everything organized. Got a refund for one year and owed less than I feared for the others. The peace of mind alone was worth it.

If you need to talk to the IRS about your situation (which I recommend), use https://claimyr.com. I spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS on my own when I had unfiled returns from 2020-2023. Their hold times are ridiculous! Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent was actually super helpful and walked me through exactly what I needed to do for my unfiled years and even helped me set up a reasonable payment plan.

I need to apologize for calling Claimyr a scam. I decided to try it today out of desperation after spending 3 hours on hold yesterday and getting disconnected. It actually worked exactly as described - I got through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent helped me understand exactly what documentation I need to provide with my unfiled returns and told me about first-time penalty abatement which I might qualify for. I had no idea that was even an option. They also sent me links to download the correct forms for the specific years I missed. Never thought I'd say this, but that was the most productive conversation I've ever had with the IRS.

Don't forget that you need the CORRECT YEAR tax forms! I made this mistake when catching up. You can't use current year forms for past years - the tax laws change. You can find prior year forms on the IRS website here: https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions (scroll down to "Prior Year Forms") Also, you should file paper returns for past years - most electronic filing only works for current year and maybe one year back.

I had a similar situation after being in the hospital for months. The key thing that helped me was getting my "Wage and Income Transcripts" from the IRS website. It shows all W2s and 1099s that were reported under your SSN for each year, so you know exactly what income the IRS already knows about. You can request them online here: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript