Step 1: Gather your tax documents To file your back tax returns, you will need the W-2s or 1099 forms you received for those tax years to report your income. If you are eligible for deductions and credits, you must also gather any receipts or other supporting records that prove your eligibility to claim them. Step 2: Request missing documentation If you are missing any of your tax documents from the last 10 years, you can request a copy from the IRS by filing Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return. Use this form only to request W-2s, 1099s and even 1098s that may provide support for some of your deductions. Though you will not receive a duplicate of the original form, the IRS will provide you with a transcript of all relevant information, which is sufficient for filing your back tax returns. It can take the IRS up to 45 days to process your request. Step 4: Prepare your back tax returns You cannot complete prior year tax forms using instructions from the current tax year. When you have all your documents in front of you and you are ready to start inputting your data, double check to make sure that the instructions you are using are for the same tax year as the tax return you are preparing. The tax law changes every year, and using the wrong instructions may require you to prepare the return over again. Step 5: Submit your forms Submit the forms to the IRS at the address listed in the Form 1040 instructions. If you owe additional income tax for any of the prior years, remember to include as large of a payment as you can to reduce your interest charges. Unlike tax penalties which stop accruing when the maximum is reached, monthly interest still accrues indefinitely until the tax is paid. Once the IRS receives your tax returns, you should expect to receive notice of the exact penalty and interest charges you are responsible for. The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Actual prices are determined at the time of print or e-file and are subject to change without notice. Savings and price comparisons based on anticipated price increase. Special discount offers may not be valid for mobile in-app purchases. You may cancel your subscription at any time from within the QuickBooks Self-Employed billing section. See for price comparison. Offer not valid for existing QuickBooks Self-Employed subscribers already on a paid subscription. Actual results will vary based on your tax situation. XX Refund Processing Service fee applies to this payment method. Prices are subject to change without notice. TurboTax specialists are available to provide general customer help and support using the TurboTax product. SmartLook on-screen help is available on a PC, laptop or the TurboTax mobile app. Service, area of expertise, experience levels, wait times, hours of operation and availability vary, and are subject to restriction and change without notice. These services are provided only by credentialed CPAs, EAs or tax attorneys. State tax advice is free. In the event your return is reviewed by a tax expert and requires a significant level of tax advice or actual preparation, the tax expert may be required to sign your return as the preparer at which point they will assume primary responsibility for the preparation of your return. On-screen help is available on a PC, laptop or the TurboTax mobile app. Service, area of expertise, experience levels, wait times, hours of operation and availability vary, and are subject to restriction and change without notice. Terms and conditions may vary and are subject to change without notice. Additional fees apply for e-filing state returns. E-file fees do not apply to New York state returns. Savings and price comparison based on anticipated price increase. Prices subject to change without notice. XX Refund Processing Service fee applies to this payment method. Prices are subject to change without notice. This benefit is available with TurboTax Federal products except TurboTax Business. State tax advice is free. Service, experience levels, hours of operation and availability vary, and are subject to restriction and change without notice. Not available for TurboTax Business customers. Quicken and QuickBooks import not available with TurboTax installed on a Mac. Imports from Quicken 2016 and higher and QuickBooks Desktop 2012 and higher ; both Windows only. Quicken import not available for TurboTax Business. Quicken products provided by Quicken Inc.
