What actually happens when you don't file taxes for 4 years

Here's what actually happens when you don't file your taxes for 4 years. Number one, you're not going to jail, okay? Take a breath. Take a breath, stay with me. There's a failure to file penalty and a failure to pay penalty. Both are accruing and interest compounds daily. Don't freak out, stay. The IRS will file a substitute for return. So if you have a 1099, this means they're going to say that you made that full 1099 and not include any of your write-offs because you didn't file a tax return with them. So without zero deductions, it's going to look like you owe more than you really should. And don't forget about your state, y'all. The states are petty, especially New York and California. Oh my god. If you ever have to choose between paying the state or the IRS, always pay the state first. Eventually, they can start garnishing your wages, having intent to levy, freeze your passport. It depends on how much you owe and how aggressive they're going to be here. Your taxes are always due, but refunds expire after three years. Nice, right? So I know I said you're not going to jail. You're probably not going to jail unless you're like a super high earner who is purposely evading taxes. But in most cases you're not going to jail. Okay, but let's talk about like how to move forward, right? Don't panic, file. Don't just submit a bunch of random stuff on TurboTax, that's not going to help your cause. You need a professional. Gather all of your tax documents. If you don't know where they are, go to IRS.gov/account. Log into your IRS account, download your wage and income transcripts year by year. There's also a lot of other very useful things in that account. I'll make a separate video on it. You want to file your oldest year first. So that's 2021, then 2022, 2023, etcetera, etcetera. You want to file an extension for the upcoming tax return, okay? So that's for 2025. That's due April 15th of 2026. It's probably going to take you some time to get organized. Let's just be honest about it. File the extension now. And remember, filing an extension is only an extension to file, not to pay. You should still technically be making a payment to the IRS by April 15th. But listen, payment plans exist. There are options for both federal and your state. If you can at least file, you can avoid the not filing penalty. The IRS is not trying to destroy you, they just want your money. And I know this is very stressful and confusing and we were never taught about it and that's why I exist, to explain this to you in a judgement free capacity. Follow along for more judgement free tax tips. We are accepting new clients for now. There's a link in my bio for a client application.