I did not file a tax return in 2000, but before and after that I have filed one every year. Do I have to file if its over 10 years ago? Am I in any legal trouble?

ANSWER

Expert Todd Alexander's Answer:

The short answer is yes, you must file tax returns for all years if your taxable income exceeds the filing requirement, i.e. the total of your personal exemption and the standard deduction amounts.  When no tax return is filed, there is no statute of limitation, that is the IRS can continue to assess and collect tax forever and interest and penalties will continue to increase as well.  The IRS can criminally prosecute failure to file tax returns in addition to civil taxes and penalties, but generally looks for a pattern of non-filing.  In general, the IRS goes back six years when looking at persons filing history in terms of tax compliance.  But be careful and fully discuss issues of non-compliance with a professsional.

Todd Alexander, CPA

California

20 yrs experience

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