Unpaid Taxes

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
September 28, 2022
3 replies
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How would one go about paying unpaid taxes? Given I have paid last few years but know there was a period that needs to be taken care of?

KanM361

Hello,

You can pay your unpaid taxes as soon as possible to avoid underpayment interest and penalty. You can also apply for payment plan with the IRS if you are not able to make your payments at one time.

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Michele_H

Hi @KFox322 you can go the IRS.gov and select make a payment, and either pay the amount due or apply for a payment plan.

All the best

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TomD8

And if you're not sure how much you owe in federal taxes, you can find out by establishing an online account with the IRS here:

Your Online Account | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)

Once you have an online IRS account, it's easy to check (and pay) any balance due that you have.

Note that this applies only to federal - not state - taxes.

**Answers are correct to the best of my ability but do not constitute tax or legal advice.

Opus 17

Do you actually know what your taxes are? It sounds to me like maybe you didn't file tax returns? If you make a random payment without actually filing a tax return, the IRS will probably return the money and it won't protect you from an audit.

The IRS has 3 years to audit you, but the clock doesn't start running until you file, so if you never filed for a previous year, the audit clock never started and the IRS can come after you forever. To file for years before 2018, you will need to prepare your returns on paper using the IRS forms and instructions for each corresponding year, or find a tax professional. Turbotax is only supported for the current and prior 3 years.

If you had withholding from a W-2 job, it may be that you don't actually owe tax, and might have been due a refund. You can't get a refund that's more than 3 years old, even if you file a late return, but filing the return is still a good idea because it gets everything down on paper and starts the audit clock running.

If you had income from self-employment (declared or undeclared, under the table, etc.) then you probably owe taxes. If you owe more than a few thousand dollars, I would definitely go to a tax professional. They can prepare your returns, figure out what you owe, and then contact the IRS on your behalf to try and negotiate a reduced settlement. Beware of tax scammers that promise to make your tax bills go away. There's no reason to use a firm located in the Bahamas by phone or internet. Any good tax accountant can negotiate with the IRS for you, find an enrolled agent in your area who you can talk to face to face and who you are comfortable talking to.