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 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 request tax transcripts online! Go to irs.gov and look for Get "Your Tax Record -" you can create an account and download transcripts for free. They show what income documents W-2s, (1099s, etc. were) reported to the IRS for each year, which is super helpful for tracking down missing paperwork. The online system is way easier than calling, and you get the information immediately instead of waiting on hold forever. Just be prepared to verify your identity with some personal information when you create the account. You ve'got this! Taking that first step of gathering documents really does make the whole thing feel more manageable.

@Jasmine Quinn You can request tax transcripts online through the IRS website irs.gov (-) just look for Get "Transcript Online. You" ll'need to verify your identity with some personal info, but it s'way easier than trying to call them. The transcripts will show what tax documents W-2s, (1099s, etc. they) have on file for you, which can help you figure out what you might be missing. Also, don t'feel bad about the paralysis thing - I think most of us who ve'been in this situation go through that exact same cycle of anxiety and avoidance. The important thing is you re'breaking out of it now. Once you start gathering those documents, you ll'probably find it s'not nearly as overwhelming as it seemed in your head. Good luck!

@Jasmine Quinn You can request tax transcripts online! Go to irs.gov and look for Get "Transcript -" you can access them immediately if you can verify your identity online, or they ll'mail them to you if the online verification doesn t'work. The transcripts will show you what income documents W-2s, (1099s, etc. were) reported to the IRS for each tax year, which is super helpful for tracking down what you might be missing. The wage and income transcripts are probably what you ll'want - they show all the income documents third parties sent to the IRS about you. It s'actually pretty eye-opening to see everything laid out like that. You ve'got this! The hardest part really is just starting, and it sounds like you re'ready to tackle it. Once you get those documents together, the actual filing process is much more straightforward than the anxiety makes it seem.

@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!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! This is incredibly helpful and reassuring. I'm in almost the same boat - been avoiding this for way too long and building it up in my head as this massive catastrophe. Hearing that your penalties were around $600 on $4,500 owed really puts things in perspective. I'm definitely going to start gathering my documents this weekend and stop letting fear paralyze me. Your point about the failure-to-file penalty being so much worse than failure-to-pay is something I didn't know - that alone makes me want to get moving on this ASAP. Quick question: when you used the mix of TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA, did you run into any issues with having different software for different years? I'm wondering if there are any complications from not having everything in one place, or if it's pretty straightforward to just treat each year separately. Thanks again for the encouragement - I really needed to hear from someone who actually went through this successfully!

@Chloe Martin No issues at all using different software for different years! Each tax year is completely separate, so there s'no need to have everything in one system. I actually found it helpful because I could compare features and pricing for each year. The only thing to keep in mind is that you ll'need to print and mail all prior year returns regardless of which software you use - that s'an IRS rule, not a software limitation. So whether you use one service or multiple, you ll'be dealing with paper filing anyway. One tip that saved me time: I prepared all my returns first before mailing any of them. That way I could see the total amount I d'owe across all years and plan my payment strategy. Some years I actually had refunds that offset what I owed for other years! You re'absolutely making the right choice to get moving on this. The anticipation really is worse than the reality. Once you start gathering those documents, you ll'feel so much better about taking control of the situation!

@Chloe Martin No issues at all using different software for different years! Each tax year is completely independent, so there s'no need to have everything in one place. I actually found it helpful to compare the interfaces and see which one I liked better for future use. The only thing to keep in mind is that you ll'need to print and mail all the prior year returns regardless of which software you use - the IRS doesn t'allow e-filing for previous years. But the software will generate all the correct forms and give you clear mailing instructions. One tip: I d'recommend preparing all your returns first before mailing any of them, so you can see the total picture across all years. That way you can plan your payment strategy and maybe even set up a payment plan before the returns are processed if needed. You re'going to feel so much relief once this is behind you!

@Chloe Martin Using different software for different years is actually pretty straightforward - each tax year is completely separate, so there s'no issue with mixing and matching services. I used TurboTax for my most complicated year had (some investment stuff and) FreeTaxUSA for the simpler ones to save money. You just treat each year as its own project. The only thing to keep in mind is that you ll'need to print and mail all prior year returns regardless of which software you use - the IRS only allows e-filing for the current tax year. So you ll'end up with separate paper returns for each year anyway. One tip: I actually prepared all my returns in the software first before printing any of them, so I could see the total amount owed across all years. That helped me plan for payment and made the whole thing feel more manageable. You re'going to feel so much better once you get this handled!

@Chloe Martin No issues at all using different software for different years! Each tax year is completely independent, so there s'no problem having them in separate systems. I actually found it helpful because I could compare the interfaces and see which one I liked better for future use. The only thing to keep in mind is that you ll'need to print and mail all the prior year returns anyway IRS (doesn t'allow e-filing for past years ,)so it doesn t'really matter which software you use from a submission standpoint. I d'definitely recommend going with the cheapest option that gets the job done. One tip: if you have similar tax situations across the years same (types of income, deductions, etc. ,)you can often just copy the approach from one year to the next, which makes the process much faster once you get the first one done. You re'going to feel so much better once you tackle this! The anticipation really is the worst part.

@Chloe Martin No issues at all using different software for different years! Each tax year is completely independent, so there s'no need to have everything in one place. I actually found it helpful because I could choose the most cost-effective option for each year based on complexity. The only thing to keep in mind is that you ll'need to mail all the prior year returns regardless of which software you use - the IRS doesn t'allow e-filing for previous years. So you ll'be printing and mailing everything anyway, which makes the software choice less critical than it would be for current year returns. One tip: I prepared all my returns at once before mailing any of them, so I could see the total tax liability across all years and plan my payment strategy. It was actually less scary seeing the full picture than wondering about each year individually. You re'absolutely going to get through this! The hardest part is just getting started.

@Chloe Martin No issues at all using different software for different years! Each tax year is completely independent, so there s'no need to have everything in one place. I actually found it helpful to treat each year as a separate project - it made the whole thing feel less overwhelming. The only thing to keep in mind is that you ll'need to print and mail all the prior year returns regardless of which software you use IRS (limitation ,)so make sure you have a good printer or access to one. I made the mistake of trying to print everything at once and ran out of ink halfway through! One tip that really helped me: I prepared all the returns first without filing them, so I could see the total amount owed across all years before submitting anything. It helped me plan my payment strategy and mentally prepare for the total bill. Much better than getting surprised by each return as I filed them. You re'going to get through this! The hardest part is just starting - once you get that first return prepared, the momentum builds and it becomes much more manageable.

@Chloe Martin Using different software for different years is actually pretty straightforward! Each tax year is completely separate, so there s'no issue with having your 2021 return done in TurboTax and your 2022 return in FreeTaxUSA, for example. The only thing to keep in mind is that you won t'be able to carry forward information between years like you normally would, but for back taxes that s'usually not a big deal anyway. I actually found it helpful to use the cheaper option FreeTaxUSA (for) the simpler years and save TurboTax for the year that had more complicated situations. Just make sure you keep good records of what you filed for each year since you won t'have everything in one account. The most important thing is just getting started - you re'going to feel so much better once you have a clear picture of what you actually owe instead of the scary unknown you re'dealing with now!

This is such helpful and reassuring advice! I'm dealing with a similar situation (2 years behind) and have been absolutely paralyzed by anxiety about the whole thing. Your breakdown of the penalty structure is really eye-opening - I had no idea that filing even without paying immediately would stop the worst penalties from accumulating. The cost comparison between PriorTax and FreeTaxUSA is super useful too. $45+ per return vs $20 really adds up when you're dealing with multiple years. I don't mind mailing the returns if it saves that much money. Your point about the reality not being as bad as imagined really resonates with me. I think I've been building this up in my head as some kind of financial apocalypse, but $500 in penalties on $3,800 owed puts things in much better perspective. Thanks for the push to stop procrastinating - I really needed to hear from someone who successfully got through this process. Time to stop letting fear run the show and actually deal with this!