Years behind on filing? Atascocita, start here

Find out what the IRS already knows. Blaga requests your wage and income transcripts, which list the W-2s and 1099s reported under your Social Security number for each year. Those show which years are missing and give her a starting point even if your own records are gone.

You do not need to have kept every receipt. Bank statements, old pay stubs and the transcripts together can rebuild enough of each year to file an accurate return.

The unfiled returns page covers the full process.

Because the late-filing penalty runs at a much higher rate. The IRS charges "5% of the tax due (less any tax paid on time and available credits) for each month or partial month the return is late", up to 25% (IRS failure to file penalty). The late-payment penalty is a tenth of that each month. Filing, even when you cannot pay, stops the larger penalty from growing. There is also a floor: for a Form 1040 due after December 31, 2025, a return more than 60 days late carries a minimum penalty of $525 or 100% of the unpaid tax, whichever is less.

If a refund is due instead, waiting can cost you that refund, because the IRS sets strict time limits for claiming one.

The IRS usually writes before it acts. A CP59 says it has no record of your prior-year personal return. Reminders like the CP515 and the final CP518 can follow. On that last one, the IRS warns it may determine your tax for you, working only from the income it has on file. Answering with real, complete returns replaces that estimate. Keep any of these letters with your records and send copies when you start. If you moved and missed mail, the IRS account transcript still shows that notices were issued.

That depends on your situation, and Blaga will give you a list after seeing the transcripts. The answer turns on which years the IRS has asked about, what you earned and whether a refund or a balance is likely for each year. Older years can still matter if the IRS has already opened a case on them, so nothing is skipped without checking. If the IRS has already prepared a return for you for one of those years, that year moves to the top of the list.

Each year is prepared under the tax rules for that year, not today's, so the forms and amounts will differ from one return to the next.

File first, then deal with the balance. Once the returns are in, options include an installment agreement, penalty relief through First Time Abate, the Automatic Exemption from Penalty that the IRS applies on its own to eligible 2025 and later returns, or reasonable cause, and in some cases an offer in compromise. Being current on filing is a condition for most of these, which is one more reason to start now. Once a return is filed, the failure-to-file penalty for that year stops growing.