Tax help for the disorganized.
Hi Terry,
I need help finding someone to help with back taxes. They are small amounts the government owes me. I am a horder and can not find some documents every year, that then gets skipped. 2019 is probably the last year I filed. Since they always owe me I have not worried about it. I will soon be receiving Social Security and will need to pay. Thus will need to file taxes. I’ve missed several refunds i am sure do to past 2 years,and several Covid checks because of this. Would you point me to someone for help in organizing and filing taxes. Tax Lawers seem to much for such small sums. The companies that advertise help back tax help seem to be also for large sums of owed money, or scams.
Terry Says
Well, you should be worried, because your failure to file could result in stiff penalties –and who knows for sure if the government owes you, or you owe the government.
And if you will ‘soon be receiving Social Security’ you want to be sure that any FICA contributions have been correctly credited so you get the full amount of your benefit. Not to mention your Medicare situation–
So, get your act together. Start by getting four brown grocery store bags. Label each one for the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022. Then throw any piece of paper that seems to be about your income or deductions into the proper year’s bag. Thats how you start to get organized.
Go back over your bank statements, credit card statements — any paper you saved and put it in the proper year’s bag.
The government does have assistance — FREE — for people in your situation. Here’s a link to find it via the IRS website: https://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/
Get your stuff together before the new year and then contact them in early January to get a head start on this process. You’ll feel better once you do.
