How do I find my mom's missing 2017 car tax statement for unfiled taxes?

Do you think the tax assessor would have those records from that far back? Also, would they mail it to me or would I have to go pick it up in person? I live about an hour away from my mom's county.

Most counties keep tax records for at least 7-10 years, so 2017 should definitely still be available. They typically can email or mail you a copy of the statement - you won't have to make the drive unless you prefer to handle it in person. You'll likely need to provide some verification that you're authorized to receive your mother's tax information. If you have power of attorney or guardianship paperwork, have that ready. If not, ask what documentation they require - some counties might accept a simple signed authorization letter from your mother if she's able to sign, along with ID.

How does that actually work? I thought only government offices could give you official tax statements. Does this service somehow have access to county records or something?

Sounds interesting but I'm wondering how much it costs? Is it cheaper than just paying the county for copies of the statements?

They don't directly access government records themselves. What they do is analyze your situation and tell you exactly which offices to contact and what to ask for. They helped me figure out that I needed to contact a specific department in the county treasurer's office rather than the main office I had been calling. As for cost, it was totally worth it for me considering how much time I was wasting trying to figure everything out on my own. I can't remember the exact price but it was reasonable compared to the headache of doing it myself and potentially missing deadlines.

Wait, this seems strange. So instead of waiting on hold yourself, you pay someone else to wait on hold for you? How is that even possible technically? What happens if the government office asks for personal info?

Sounds like a scam to me. Why would I pay for something I can do myself by just waiting on hold? Not to mention giving access to potentially sensitive tax conversations to a third party.

It's not that they're on the call instead of you - they have an automated system that basically waits in the phone queue for you. When a real person finally answers, their system connects you directly to that person. You handle the actual conversation yourself, so no personal info is shared with anyone but the government office. The whole point is saving time. My county tax office had hold times of 2+ hours. Instead of being stuck with my phone on speaker for hours, I could go about my day and just get a call when someone finally answered. For me, that was worth way more than what it cost.

That's a great idea! I hadn't thought of checking her bank statements. Do you think the amount would be specifically labeled as "car tax" or would it just show as a payment to the county?

It probably won't say "car tax" specifically. In my dad's case, it just showed as a payment to the county treasurer with a reference number. But if you can match the amount and approximate date (usually due the same time each year), that can be enough. Your tax preparer mainly needs the amount paid for deduction purposes. If your mom paid by check, there might even be a memo line notation, or you could look at the back of the canceled check image to see how it was processed. Sometimes the county puts identifying numbers on those.

This is what saved me when dealing with my grandpa's taxes! His accountant had backups of almost everything, including property tax statements going back nearly a decade. Worth a phone call at least.

I hadn't thought of that either! I'm not sure if she used the same preparer before, but it's definitely worth asking. Thanks for the suggestion!