Is PriorTax.com legit or a scam? Can I safely pay back taxes when filing?

Thanks for the info, super helpful. Do you know if there's a limit to how many years back I can file? And will I get killed with penalties? I'm 3 years behind 😬

There's no specific limit to how many years back you can file, but if you're owed a refund, you generally only have 3 years from the original due date to claim it. After that, you lose the refund. Regarding penalties, you'll likely face a failure-to-file penalty (5% of unpaid taxes per month, up to 25%) and a failure-to-pay penalty (0.5% per month, up to 25%), plus interest on the unpaid amount. However, if you had a reasonable cause for not filing, you can request penalty abatement. The good news is that coming forward voluntarily looks better than waiting for the IRS to find you.

How long did the whole process take you? Did they actually e-file the old returns or did you have to mail them in? My situation sounds similar but I'm also missing some documents.

I'm a bit skeptical about these online services. Did you have to provide your SSN and all that sensitive info through their website? That's what makes me nervous about these things.

The whole process took about a week from when I uploaded my documents to when I was ready to file. They don't actually file for you - they analyze all your tax documents and create a complete breakdown of what you need to report for each year, then you can take that information to file yourself or through a preparer. Saved me tons of research time. Regarding security concerns, yes you do need to provide your tax documents which include personal information, but they use bank-level encryption. I felt comfortable after reading about their security practices and seeing they had SOC 2 compliance. Much better than the random "tax help" sites I'd found before.

Wait for real? How does that even work? I thought everyone just had to suffer through the IRS hold music lol.

Sounds like a scam to me. Nobody can magically get you through to the IRS faster. They probably just take your money and have you call the same number yourself.

It's basically a callback service. They have automated systems that wait on hold for you, then when they reach a live agent, they call you and connect you. It's the same technology that big companies use for their customer service systems. I was also skeptical at first (hence why I spent weeks trying on my own), but it legitimately works. They don't make any promises about the outcome of your call - they just get you through to an actual person instead of the endless hold void. Makes a huge difference when you're trying to sort out something complicated like payment plans for multiple years of back taxes.

Do you remember how much they charged per year? I have like 3 years to catch up on and trying to figure out the cheapest way to do this.

I believe I paid around $45 for the federal return for that one year. State was another $35 or so. I remember thinking it was steep for a pretty basic return, but I was desperate to get it filed. For multiple years, FreeTaxUSA would definitely be cheaper. I think they charge around $20 for prior year federal returns and maybe $15 for state. Just remember that you'll need to print and mail those returns regardless of which service you use - the IRS only allows current year returns to be e-filed.

Did you request any penalty abatement? I've heard sometimes they'll reduce penalties if it's your first time missing deadlines.

This is such solid advice, thank you for sharing your experience! I'm in almost the exact same boat - 2 years behind and been putting it off because I'm terrified of what I'll find. Your point about the failure-to-file penalty being worse than failure-to-pay is really helpful to know. Quick question - when you set up the payment plan with the IRS before filing, did they give you an estimate of what you'd owe, or did you have to wait until after you filed to know the actual amount? I'm trying to figure out if I should get my returns prepared first to know what I owe, or if I can start the payment plan process now. Also really appreciate the reminder that waiting just makes it worse - I needed to hear that!

@Ethan Anderson When I called the IRS about setting up a payment plan, they couldn t'give me an exact estimate without the filed returns, but they were able to give me a general idea based on what I told them about my income and estimated tax liability. What they basically said was once "you file, call us back and we ll'set up the formal payment plan based on the actual amounts. The" benefit of calling first was more psychological than anything - it confirmed that payment plans were available and gave me a sense of what the process would look like. It made me feel less like I was walking into a trap, you know? My advice would be to get at least a rough idea of what you owe by preparing your returns even (if you don t'file them immediately ,)then you can have a more informed conversation with the IRS about payment options. Most tax software will show you the bottom line before you actually submit, so you can know what you re'dealing with. You re'going to get through this! The anticipation is honestly worse than the reality.

Thanks for sharing your experience with PriorTax! Your point about the Voluntary Disclosure Program is really helpful - I hadn't heard of that before. Quick question: when you mentioned filing voluntarily before they catch unreported income, is there a specific way to indicate that on the return, or do you just file normally and include the previously unreported 1099s? Also, your penalty numbers are reassuring. I think I've been building this up in my head as some kind of financial apocalypse, but $400 in penalties on $3,200 owed really isn't the end of the world. Did you end up doing a payment plan or were you able to pay it all at once?

@Kiara Greene For the Voluntary Disclosure Program, you don t'need to do anything special on the return itself - you just file normally and include all the income including (the previously unreported 1099s on) the correct year s'forms. The voluntary "part" is simply that you re'coming forward before the IRS contacts you about discrepancies. I was able to pay mine all at once, but only because I had been setting aside money in a separate account once I finally faced reality about what I owed. The IRS payment plans are pretty straightforward though - you can set them up online or over the phone, and the setup fee is minimal I (think around $31 for online applications .)One thing that really helped me was using tax software to prepare all my returns at once before filing any of them. That way I could see the total damage across all years and plan accordingly. It was less scary seeing it all laid out than imagining worst-case scenarios in my head!

This is exactly what I needed to hear! I've been stuck in that paralysis phase for months now, constantly thinking about it but too scared to actually do anything. Your point about the IRS actually wanting you to file the missing returns is something I hadn't considered - I kept thinking of them as the enemy waiting to pounce. The penalty numbers you shared are really reassuring too. I think I've been catastrophizing this whole situation in my head. $900 in penalties on almost $6k owed really puts things in perspective. I'm definitely going to start gathering my documents this weekend. I know I'm missing some 1099s from freelance work, but like you said, I should start with what I have. Quick question though - when you say the IRS can provide transcripts of what they have on file, is that something I can request online or do I need to call that dreaded phone number? Thanks for the push I needed to finally get moving on this!

@Jasmine Quinn You can actually request tax transcripts online! Go to irs.gov and look for Get "Transcript Online -" you ll'need to verify your identity, but it s'way easier than calling. They ll'show you what W-2s, 1099s, and other tax documents were reported to the IRS for each year, which is super helpful for filling in gaps. The transcript won t'have everything like (if someone paid you cash and didn t'file a 1099 ,)but it ll'show you the major income sources the IRS already knows about. That way you can make sure you re'not missing anything they ll'eventually match up anyway. Diego s'advice about starting with what you have is spot on. I made the mistake of spending weeks trying to track down every single document before I started, when I could have been making progress with what I already had. You ve'got this!