How many years should I file for back taxes? Confused about catching up with the IRS

Hey everyone, I'm in a bit of a tax mess and need some advice. I haven't filed my taxes from 2018 until now, and I just finished filing for 2021, 2022, and 2023 with a tax preparer. When I asked him about going back and filing for those earlier years (2018-2020), he seemed kind of confused about why I'd even want to do that. He basically said I wouldn't be getting any refunds from those years, so why bother? I'm honestly confused now. I always thought there would be consequences if you didn't file all your back taxes. The main reason I'm trying to get everything sorted is because I'm going back to school next January and want to make sure I'm eligible for FAFSA. I've been browsing the FAFSA website, but I don't see much mentioned about needing to have all your taxes filed. So my question is - should I go ahead and file those missing years (2018-2020) or is it not worth worrying about since I'm probably not getting money back? Will this affect my FAFSA eligibility? Or could there be other consequences down the road if I don't file them?

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18 comments

Emily Jackson

•8M

Those unfiled tax years definitely shouldn't be ignored, regardless of whether you're getting a refund. The IRS generally requires you to file returns for the past 6 years to be considered "current" on your filing obligations. For FAFSA specifically, they typically only look at the prior-prior year's tax information (for January 2025 enrollment, they'd look at your 2023 returns), so you've already covered what FAFSA needs by filing 2023. But there are bigger reasons to file those missing returns. If you owed taxes for those years, the IRS can assess penalties and interest that continue to grow. Even if you didn't owe, there could be refundable credits you qualified for but didn't claim. Most importantly, there's a 3-year deadline for claiming refunds, so 2020 is your last chance to get any money back if you were owed a refund. Also, being compliant with filing requirements can be important for future financial situations like mortgage applications, loan approvals, or if you ever need to prove your income history.

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Emily Jackson

•8M

The IRS prioritizes cases where they believe taxes are owed, but they can still request unfiled returns regardless. They have automated systems that flag missing returns, especially if you had reported income like W-2s or 1099s for those years. Yes, definitely prioritize 2020 since the refund statute expires this year. After that 3-year window closes, you can still file but won't receive any refunds you might have been entitled to. For the other years, the main benefit would be getting compliant and avoiding potential issues if the IRS ever does follow up on those unfiled returns.

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Liam Mendez

•8M

I went through something similar last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was super helpful for my missing tax years situation. I had missed filing 2019 and 2020, and was worried about penalties. Their system helped me determine which years I actually needed to file based on my income and whether I was owed refunds or not. The tool analyzed my tax documents to figure out if I'd likely owe taxes or receive refunds for those missing years. Saved me from paying my preparer for years where I didn't actually need to file! For the years I did need to file, it gave me all the info organized to make it quick and painless.

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Liam Mendez

•8M

You upload whatever tax documents you have for those years - W-2s, 1099s, etc. It analyzes them and shows what your tax situation likely would have been. For gig work with missing records, it has estimation tools that help recreate your likely income and expenses based on industry averages and the information you do have. Regarding security concerns, I totally get that. The difference from a preparer is that it's specifically designed to analyze and determine if filing is necessary or beneficial for each year, rather than just preparing returns. It uses bank-level encryption and doesn't store your documents after analysis. I was hesitant too but found it actually helped me avoid preparing returns for years where I wouldn't have benefited.

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Sophia Nguyen

•8M

After reading about taxr.ai here, I decided to give it a try since I was in a similar boat with unfiled taxes from 2019-2020. The analysis showed I was actually owed almost $1,800 for 2020 because of earned income credit I didn't know about! For 2019, it showed I probably wouldn't get anything back and likely wouldn't face penalties based on my income that year. This saved me from paying a preparer unnecessarily for that year. The document organization feature was actually really helpful since my paperwork was a complete mess. I'm now just focused on filing that 2020 return before the deadline to get my refund. Such a relief to finally understand my situation and not feel like I'm in tax limbo anymore.

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Isabella Brown

•8M

If you do need to contact the IRS about your situation (which might be a good idea), use Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I waited on hold with the IRS for HOURS trying to figure out my back tax situation last month before giving up. Then I found this service that basically holds your place in line and calls you when an IRS agent is actually available. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - it seriously saved me from wasting an entire day on hold. I used it to confirm which years I needed to file and if there were any existing issues in their system for my unfiled years. Turns out I had a substitute return the IRS filed for me that I didn't even know about!

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Isabella Brown

•8M

It uses an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. It's not "cutting the line" or anything - you're still in the same queue, but you don't have to be the one listening to the hold music for hours. When an actual IRS agent picks up, their system calls your phone and connects you directly to the agent. I was skeptical too, but it's not a scam. It's basically like having someone else wait in a physical line for you and then calling you when you're about to reach the front. The IRS doesn't care who waits on hold, and when the agent comes on, you're the one who talks to them. I think it just works because most people don't know about it yet, but it saved me about 3 hours of hold time.

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Jacob Smithson

•8M

Ok I have to eat my words. After being super skeptical about the Claimyr thing, I tried it yesterday because I've been trying to reach the IRS about my unfiled 2017-2019 returns for WEEKS. I figured $20 was worth it if there was even a small chance it worked. It actually connected me with an IRS agent in about 25 minutes (while I was doing other stuff), when I had previously waited on hold for over 2 hours multiple times without getting through. The agent was able to tell me exactly which years they were showing as unfiled and confirmed I should definitely file 2020 before the refund deadline. Still seems like it shouldn't work, but it did. Saved me a ton of frustration and now I at least know where I stand with the IRS instead of guessing.

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Aiden Rodríguez

•8M

Many states follow the same 3-year refund window as the federal government, but there are definitely exceptions. For instance, some states like California can look back and collect for much longer periods than the IRS typically does. Regarding penalties, they vary widely by state. Some states have lower penalty rates than federal, while others can be more aggressive with collections for even small amounts. It's definitely worth checking your specific state's department of revenue website or calling them directly. In my experience, state tax agencies are actually often easier to reach by phone than the IRS.

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