back taxes ?

Ok, here's the situation as I understand it. My fiance has been notified by the IRS that he owes about 10,000 in 'back taxes', interest and penalties. From what I can get out of him, he did not file tax returns in 1989 and 1990. He has managed to obtain copies of his W-2's from one former employer, but the other tells him they no longer have those records (how long must they keep them ?).

So, what is his recourse ? He can't file a return for those years because forms are not available any more. I even called the IRS and asked and they told me they didn't have them ! What can he do about this ? Is there any way for him to get copies of his W2 information from the gov't for past years ???

Is a tax lawyer his only recourse ??


Thanks !

If the debt is from taxes due over 10 years ago, the IRS has most likely already assessed the tax for those years and the time for contesting that has most likely long gone by. So it is probably too late to do anything other than try and come to an agreement on collection with the IRS.

To put it another way, what you can do depends on what has been done already, and for a debt this old, it is probably too late to protest. However, this may be one of those rare situations, that is somehow an exception, in which case, your option would be to hire a CPA or tax attorney to trace this down and see what, if anything, can be done.

Thanks for the information, loku, I'll pass it along.

I don't know what he's done with this in the past. It interesting that the IRS wouldn't be agreeable to do anything with something that's been around so long besides some kind of settlement. Looks like he needs an attorney.

Thanks !

loku said:

If the debt is from taxes due over 10 years ago, the IRS has most likely already assessed the tax for those years and the time for contesting that has most likely long gone by. So it is probably too late to do anything other than try and come to an agreement on collection with the IRS.

To put it another way, what you can do depends on what has been done already, and for a debt this old, it is probably too late to protest. However, this may be one of those rare situations, that is somehow an exception, in which case, your option would be to hire a CPA or tax attorney to trace this down and see what, if anything, can be done.

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Would you clarify the first paragraph,at the end of 10 years time are you completely free of any liability for IRS back taxes owed--------------thanks,RentMoney

You are not free of liability for taxes owed for more than 10 years. What I tried to express is that if the IRS has followed proper procedure with respect to the tax, then the person who owes the tax can no longer protest the amount.

loku said:

You are not free of liability for taxes owed for more than 10 years. What I tried to express is that if the IRS has followed proper procedure with respect to the tax, then the person who owes the tax can no longer protest the amount.

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I've always thought there was a statute of limitations of 10 years,if this is so are you not free of liability at that point or does the liability go on forever.

Dealing with IRS

In my personal experience IRS had all the records back to 1986. When I first met my significant other IRS said he owed $395,000 in back taxes according to their records. I was able to obtain info from IRS and from the poorly organized, minimal records of my SO to be able to submit tax forms for 1987, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92 93 and 94 and get him squared away with IRS with an Offer in Compromise. He actually owed very little once the tax forms were completed... mostly penalties.

If IRS does not have the W-2 and the employer does not have a W-2 is it not possible to get some kind of statement from the employer with an estimate of earnings?? If IRS has no record I would think they would have to accept a signed statement from the employer.

It appears tax forms for 89 and 90 need to be submitted with as many actual figures as possible and estimates for the balance. Then he would need to pay what ever he owes unless there is good reason he cannot pay and then an Offer in Compromise might be considered. An OIC is NOT difficult and does not require an attorney. One must read carefully, stand their ground and be insistent to succeed.

I would like to clarify one thing: if the reason for the assessment of 10-year-old taxes is being made because there were no returns filed for those years, the assessment is not late. There is no statute of limitations for assessment and collection of taxes for years that no return has been file. The limitations periods begin to run when the return is filed.

Ok.. if the IRS has forms from 86 onward, how do we get the forms from them for 89 and 90 ?? The person I spoke to on the phone at the IRS said they didn't have anything as old as that ?
Was he mistaken ? Is there a specific office or something I should call ???

I read somewhere about filing a return as "SFR Protest Return".. can he still do this at this point, even if we can get the forms ?

Thanks !

have you tried social security?they will have a record of how much he earned at least.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service may be able to help you if you have tried unsuccessfully to resolve a problem with the IRS. Your local Taxpayer Advocate can offer you special help if you have a significant hardship as a result of a tax problem. For more information, call toll free 1-877-777-4778 (1-800-829-4059 for TTY/TDD) or write to the Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS office that last contacted you.