Can someone answer a tax question for me?

You’ve simply got to file this year’s return, and file for the years past as well. You can get on line to the IRS home page for past years forms.

If you file this year, you will be back in the system. You can file for the last three years, but only need to if you owe or expect a refund. If you need forms you can get them at IRS.gov

You’re never “out of the system”. If you owed money for the past few years, and you didn’t file, the IRS will catch up with you eventually. And at that point you will owe not only what you should have paid originally, but also penalties for not paying in the first place.

File all your taxes. Right now. The longer you delay, the worse it is for you.

If you didn’t owe any money, you’re under no requirement to file back years, but if you don’t you also can’t claim any money you were due, and after 3 years, you’ll never be able to claim it.

@DrBill IF you owe the IRS, you will always OWE the IRS if you do not file a return. There is no statute of limitations on owing them if no return was ever filed! Once filed, the IRS has 10 years in which to collect the original amount PLUS interest and possible penalties. There is a statute if they owe you and you lose any refund at three years after the return was due. Example: if you are due a refund for 2006, that return was due 4/15/07, so after 4/15/10 the IRS will thank you for your ‘donation’!

@SherriS

I know that, that is why I said “if you owe, or expect a refund.

You can still get a refund if the return is over three years old, but you lose your deductions, which will wipe out most refunds.

@DrBill I have NO idea where you heard that ‘You can still get a refund if the return is over three years old, but you lose your deductions, which will wipe out most refunds’. THERE is NO such thing as ‘lose your deductions’ and NO you do not get a refund after three years. I’ve been doing taxes for just about 20 years now and you are inventing ‘rules’ that I would have come in contact with IF true!
I have in front of me a letter the IRS sent to one of my clients which reads, in part, ‘we’ve disallowed your claim for credit for the period shown above. ....To claim that overpayment as a credit or to obtain a refund, you have to file your tax return within 3 years from its due date…’ It’s a Letter 105C if you want to verify.

@SherriS

U.S. tax code training seminar, Chicago, IL. December 14–18 2009

I’ve been doing taxes for 36 years, and a certified tax accountant for 29 years.

@DrBill Please explain to me what a ‘certified tax accountant’ is. “Certified’ by whom? And I’m sure you won’t mind if I send your statement above to an IRS Tech to see what he has to say about it.

@DrBill @SherriS rather than going back and forth about who has the biggest “credential”, how about you each just find the actual Tax Code Law that supports your assertion, and link to it here?

Thanks, Mritty, for the suggestion. I know what I’m talking about and will gladly back it up with a link to IRS Publication 17.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf page 14 under Filing late: If you were due a refund but you did not file a return, you generally must file within 3 years from the date the return was due (including extensions) to get that refund.

@SherriS Certified by the IRS

you generally must file within 3 years
is NOT the same as:
you must file within 3 years

@DrBill ‘certified’ as in being a VITA tax preparer? And the ‘generally’ refers to people outside CONUS.

@DrBill can you please give me an example when someone would generally NOT have to file within the three years and still get a refund?

@DrBill Sherri has shown the tax law that backs up her claim. Where is yours?