Failure to File 1993

[luckylucy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FL
In 1993 (when I was young, broke and stupid) I did my taxes for the very first time on the night of April 15th only to find out I owed a whopping $800. I was a student, 19 years old, had worked part time and made some money but my mother claimed me as a dependant so I owed more than I expected...and a whole lot more than I had! I filed an extension, then promptly moved away to go to school and forgot (or maybe ignored) the whole thing. Fast forward 15 years...I have given up my life of tax evasion and faithfully filed my annual return every year. Sometimes I have to pay more, sometimes I get a refund, but I have never been contacted about that old return. It worries me, though, (especially in the middle of the night!) and I wonder if I should contact the IRS or just let it go. My husband (who knows less about the IRS than I do) says to forget about it...the amount is too small and the time to long for the IRS to do anything now. But I'm always reading about that "no statute of limitations" thing if you failed to file. Any thoughts?

 

[irsos]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FL
In 1993 (when I was young, broke and stupid) I did my taxes for the very first time on the night of April 15th only to find out I owed a whopping $800. I was a student, 19 years old, had worked part time and made some money but my mother claimed me as a dependant so I owed more than I expected...and a whole lot more than I had! I filed an extension, then promptly moved away to go to school and forgot (or maybe ignored) the whole thing. Fast forward 15 years...I have given up my life of tax evasion and faithfully filed my annual return every year. Sometimes I have to pay more, sometimes I get a refund, but I have never been contacted about that old return. It worries me, though, (especially in the middle of the night!) and I wonder if I should contact the IRS or just let it go. My husband (who knows less about the IRS than I do) says to forget about it...the amount is too small and the time to long for the IRS to do anything now. But I'm always reading about that "no statute of limitations" thing if you failed to file. Any thoughts?

You can safely forget about it. The IRS rarely goes back beyond 6 years and there are no records remaining from 1993. If you are riddled with guilt, give $800 to a worthy charity. There is NO possibility the IRS will contact you about it.

 

[LdiJ]

You can safely forget about it. The IRS rarely goes back beyond 6 years and there are no records remaining from 1993. If you are riddled with guilt, give $800 to a worthy charity. There is NO possibility the IRS will contact you about it.

I agree...you won't hear from the IRS after this much time has passed.