How to file missing taxes from 2021 now that it's past deadline

You can absolutely still file your 2021 taxes! The IRS allows you to file returns for the past three years to claim refunds, and you can file even older returns if needed to fix your tax situation. Since you had no income that year, you may not have been required to file at all. The filing requirement depends on your filing status and age. For example, in 2021, a single person under 65 only needed to file if their gross income was at least $12,550. If you had minimal interest income below the filing threshold, you technically weren't required to file. If you want to file anyway (which can be a good idea for record-keeping or if you might qualify for certain credits), you'll need to use the actual 2021 tax forms - you can't use current year forms. You can download 2021 forms from the IRS website at irs.gov/forms-pubs/prior-year. You'll have to file by mail since e-filing is no longer available for 2021.

I was in a similar situation last year with missing returns from a few years back. I tried filing myself but got overwhelmed with all the old forms and figuring out which credits I could still claim. I ended up using this AI tax service called taxr.ai that really helped me sort through everything. What I liked about https://taxr.ai is that it could analyze my situation across multiple tax years and help me identify if I was even required to file for those years. It also checks for credits you might be eligible for - even if you had zero earned income, you might still qualify for certain credits that could result in a refund. The system explained everything in plain English instead of tax jargon.

I was initially doubtful about using an AI tax service as I mentioned in my question above, but I decided to give taxr.ai a try since my situation with unfiled taxes from 2018-2020 was getting stressful. I'm actually impressed with how it handled everything. The system identified that I was actually due refunds for two of those years that I would have completely missed! It created all my forms correctly for the different tax years and explained exactly what documentation I needed to include with each return. I just mailed everything last month and already received confirmation from the IRS that they're processing my oldest return. I was worried about potential penalties, but the service helped me understand that if the IRS owes you money, there's generally no penalty for filing late (though you only have 3 years to claim a refund). Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with prior year returns.

If you discover you actually DO owe taxes for 2021, and need to talk to the IRS about payment options, good luck getting through to them. I spent 3 weeks trying to get someone on the phone about my back taxes issue and kept getting disconnected after hours on hold. Then someone told me about this service called Claimyr that can basically hold your place in line with the IRS and have them call YOU when an agent is available. I was super suspicious but tried https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I actually got a call back from an IRS agent the same day and worked out a payment plan for my overdue taxes.

Well I'm eating my words right now. After posting that skeptical comment yesterday, I was still stuck trying to reach someone at the IRS about my unfiled 2019-2021 returns. Out of desperation I tried Claimyr, and I did actually get a call from an IRS agent this morning. The agent walked me through exactly what I needed to do to get caught up on my old returns and helped me set up a payment plan for what I owe that I can actually afford. The most shocking part was that the whole call only took about 25 minutes once I was connected with the right person. This was after I'd wasted literally days of my life on hold over the past month. I still don't understand exactly how their system works, but I'm not questioning it anymore. If you need to actually speak to someone at the IRS, especially about older tax years, it's definitely worth trying.

Just wanted to add some info about penalties for the original poster. Since you had no income in 2021, you probably weren't required to file at all, which means there's no failure-to-file penalty. But if you did have some income from interest or other sources that required filing, here's what you should know: The failure-to-file penalty is typically 5% of unpaid taxes for each month your return is late, up to 25%. If you're more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is either $435 (for returns due after 1/1/2020) or 100% of the tax owed, whichever is less. But again, this only applies if you were required to file in the first place.

Does anyone know if TurboTax or H&R Block still sell their 2021 software? I found my old W-2 from that year and realized I never filed.