I missed filing my taxes for 2022 - what happens now and should I be worried?

14 You're not going to jail! Take a deep breath first. The IRS is much more interested in collecting taxes than punishing people, especially in your situation. Since you're a student with low income, you might not even owe any taxes and could possibly be due a refund. In that case, there's actually no penalty for filing late when you're owed money - you just don't get your refund until you file. For missing W2s, you have several options: 1) Contact your employer(s) for copies 2) Call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to request wage transcripts 3) Create an account on IRS.gov and view/download your wage information. As for filing incorrectly - honest mistakes happen all the time. You can always file an amended return (Form 1040-X) if you discover errors later. The important thing is to file as soon as possible to minimize any potential penalties or interest if you do end up owing.

19 After stressing about my own unfiled taxes from 2022, I finally bit the bullet and used https://taxr.ai to help sort through my situation. I was in a similar boat - couldn't find my W2s and was totally freaking out about potential penalties. What I loved about them was that they analyzed my past tax history and helped recreate what my return should look like based on previous years' data. Their system was able to pull my income information automatically after I verified my identity, and they explained exactly what I needed to do step by step. Super straightforward process and saved me from the anxiety spiraling I was doing! They even helped determine I was actually owed a refund rather than owing penalties.

6 I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai since I was skeptical at first. I decided to try it anyway since my financial aid was on the line, and I'm actually really impressed. They retrieved all my missing W2 information that I couldn't find and walked me through filing my late return step by step. The best part was discovering I qualified for American Opportunity Tax Credit for my education expenses which I had no idea about. Ended up getting a $1800 refund instead of owing money! The whole process was way less stressful than I expected. If you're a student who missed filing, definitely worth checking out.

22 If you need to talk to an actual IRS person about your situation (which I'd recommend for peace of mind), good luck getting through their phone lines. After trying for WEEKS to talk to someone, I found this service called https://claimyr.com that gets you through the IRS phone queue. I was super doubtful it would work, but you can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was in a similar situation with unfiled 2022 taxes and freaking out. They got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I had been trying for days before that. The agent walked me through exactly what I needed to do, confirmed I wouldn't face any criminal penalties (that's for deliberate tax fraud, not just being late), and even helped me set up a payment plan for what I owed. Seriously saved my sanity.

8 I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After calling the IRS myself for THREE DAYS and never getting through (either busy signals or disconnected after waiting forever), I tried the service. Within 20 minutes I was talking to an actual IRS representative who explained my options for my unfiled 2022 return. The agent told me specifically that as a student with my income level, I wasn't at risk for any serious penalties and walked me through how to get my missing documents. They even helped me set up an online account so I could access my tax records directly. Huge relief and totally worth it to finally get answers from an official source instead of stressing about worst-case scenarios.

11 Similar situation happened to me last year. If you're expecting a refund, there's actually NO penalty for filing late! The IRS only penalizes you if you OWE them money. As a student with low income, you're probably in the clear. You have 3 years from the original due date to claim a refund, so you're nowhere near that deadline for 2022 taxes. My advice: get copies of your W2s (your employers should be able to provide them), use free tax filing software, and get it done. You'll probably get a nice refund check a few weeks later!

3 What state do you live in? Some states have much stricter penalties for late filing than the federal government. I got hit with a $100 minimum penalty in California even though I was only late by a month and owed less than $200 in state taxes.

9 Don't panic! I filed 3 years of back taxes last summer and it was way less scary than I thought. For your W2s, you can get wage and income transcripts directly from the IRS website by creating an account at irs.gov/transcripts - it's free and shows everything that was reported to the IRS under your SSN. You can still use regular tax software for prior years (they usually sell previous year versions), but you'll have to mail in the return rather than e-file. Just be super clear that it's for tax year 2022 on all the forms. I highly recommend getting it done ASAP though - if you're owed a refund, there's no penalty, but if you end up owing anything, the penalties and interest continue to grow.