I haven't filed taxes in 3 years, is there any way to fix this without getting in major trouble?

8 First, take a deep breath! The good news is that this is definitely fixable and you're doing the right thing by addressing it now. Since your employer has been withholding taxes all along, you're in a much better position than someone who hasn't had any withholding. For unfiled tax returns, you'll want to file them as soon as possible. The IRS generally recommends filing the last 6 years if you've fallen behind. Since you have W-2 income, the process isn't too complicated. You can absolutely use tax software like TurboTax, H&R Block, or FreeTaxUSA to file prior year returns. They all offer previous year versions of their software. You'll need to gather your W-2s from each year. If you've lost them, you can request wage transcripts from the IRS by creating an account at IRS.gov or by submitting Form 4506-T. Your employer's HR department might also be able to provide copies. Since you've had regular withholding, you might even be due refunds for some years! But be aware that refunds can only be claimed within 3 years of the original due date. Any potential penalties will be based on taxes owed, not on taxes that were properly withheld.

19 After reading your situation, I was in a similar spot last year (hadn't filed for 2 years) and was super stressed about it. I tried to gather all my documents but was missing a bunch of 1099s and wasn't sure if I had everything the IRS already knew about. I ended up using https://taxr.ai which really saved me. Their system pulled my official IRS transcripts so I could see exactly what the IRS had on file for me for each year. It showed all my reported income, previous payments, and even estimated what I'd likely owe including penalties. Honestly it was a huge relief just knowing exactly where I stood instead of guessing. It helped me figure out what forms I needed to file for each year and gave me this timeline for getting everything submitted. I worried less about forgetting something because I could see everything the IRS already knew about.

14 Just wanted to come back and say I tried that taxr.ai site after seeing it mentioned here. It really did make the process WAY less scary than I thought. I was missing a bunch of documents from 2022 and had no idea what the IRS actually had on file for me. The transcript analysis showed me exactly what income had been reported under my SSN and what payments were already made. Turns out I was actually OWED money for one of the years I hadn't filed! I wouldn't have known that without seeing my complete records. I'm still working through filing all my back taxes, but having that complete picture made it so much easier to move forward. If you're in a similar situation with missing documents or just want to know where you stand, definitely check it out. Totally worth it for the stress reduction alone.

10 If you're trying to catch up on unfiled returns, you'll probably end up needing to talk to the IRS at some point. Just a heads up - calling them directly is BRUTAL these days. I spent literally days trying to get through last month about a similar situation. After wasting hours on hold and getting disconnected multiple times, I found https://claimyr.com through a tax forum. They have this system where they basically wait on hold with the IRS for you, then call you when an actual human agent is on the line. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was super skeptical it would work, but I was desperate after my third disconnected call. They got me through to an IRS agent in about 2 hours while I just went about my day. The agent was able to tell me exactly what years I needed to file and helped me set up a payment plan for what I owed. Saved me so much frustration.

15 I need to apologize for being so skeptical about Claimyr in my previous comment. After more research and seeing others had success with it, I decided to try it last week when I needed to discuss my payment options with the IRS. I was absolutely blown away. After trying for THREE DAYS on my own to reach someone at the IRS (and getting disconnected every time after 1+ hour holds), Claimyr got me connected to an agent in under 2 hours. I didn't have to sit on hold - they just called me when an agent was on the line. The IRS representative I spoke with was actually super helpful about my unfiled returns. They explained exactly what I needed to do, helped me understand the penalty situation, and even set up a payment plan that works with my budget. I should have done this months ago instead of stressing about it!

3 Don't stress too much about criminal charges. The IRS is mostly concerned with collecting taxes, not prosecuting people who are trying to fix their mistakes. Criminal charges are typically reserved for people who are deliberately committing fraud or trying to evade taxes, not those who fell behind and are now trying to catch up. I was in a similar situation about 5 years ago (hadn't filed for 4 years) and just worked through it systematically. The penalties weren't as bad as I expected, and for one year I actually got a refund! The peace of mind from getting everything sorted out was absolutely worth it.

5 Just wanted to add that if you do end up owing money to the IRS, don't panic about paying it all at once. The IRS is pretty reasonable about setting up payment plans. I owed about $7,500 after not filing for a couple years, and they let me set up a monthly payment plan of $250. The most important thing is to file all the returns, even if you can't pay right away. The penalty for not filing (failure-to-file penalty) is much higher than the penalty for not paying (failure-to-pay penalty).