Filing back taxes and answering tax letters
Falling behind usually happens for ordinary reasons: a new business, a move, a hard year, or a 1099 that never made it into the return. Then a letter arrives from the IRS or the New Jersey Division of Taxation, and the problem feels bigger than it is. In most cases, recent unfiled years and routine notices can be put right with accurate returns and a clear response.
Our help with filing back taxes covers recent unfiled returns, amended returns, extensions and responses to IRS and New Jersey notices. A dedicated specialist reviews your situation, pulls what the IRS has on file and prepares what is needed to get you current. We work with clients in Rochelle Park and across Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Hudson and Morris counties, and online across the U.S.
What we help with
Unfiled tax returns
We focus on recent years. We request your IRS wage and income transcripts, gather your W-2s, 1099s and business records, and prepare each missing federal and New Jersey return. If you had business income and your books were never kept, our catch-up bookkeeping service rebuilds the records first. Business entities that missed their filings are handled through our business tax returns service.
Amended tax returns
If a filed return left out income, used the wrong filing status or missed a deduction or credit, we prepare a corrected return. Federal returns are amended on Form 1040-X, and recent years can be filed electronically. New Jersey residents amend on Form NJ-1040X; nonresidents file a new NJ-1040-NR marked “Amended”. If the IRS changes your federal return, New Jersey generally expects you to amend your state return too.
Extensions
If a deadline is close and your documents are not, we file an extension: Form 4868 for individuals, Form 7004 for most business returns, and the matching New Jersey request. We also estimate what you owe, because an extension gives more time to file, not to pay.
IRS and New Jersey notices
Every notice has a number in the top or bottom corner and a reply date. The two we see most often:
- CP2000: the IRS received income or payment information from third parties, such as a W-2 or 1099, that does not match your return, and proposes changes. You reply by the date on the notice, saying whether you agree or disagree and including documents. We check the IRS figures against your records and prepare the response.
- CP14: the IRS believes you owe unpaid tax. If the balance is right, you pay it or set up a payment plan; if not, you contact the IRS using the details on the notice. We confirm the numbers before you pay.
New Jersey Division of Taxation letters, such as requests for information or notices of adjustment, work the same way. Many of them can be answered online by uploading documents through the Division’s Online Notice Response Service, and we prepare the response package for you.
Key rules worth knowing
- Refunds expire: to claim a refund on a past-due return, you generally must file within 3 years of the return’s due date, as the IRS page on filing past due tax returns explains.
- Six years is the usual focus: IRS policy generally enforces filing for the last six years, though circumstances can change that.
- Penalties grow monthly: the failure-to-file penalty is generally 5% of the unpaid tax per month or part of a month, up to 25%. Filing, even without full payment, stops that penalty from growing.
- Substitute returns cost more: if you do not file, the IRS may file for you without your deductions.
What we do not do
We do not represent clients before the IRS or New Jersey, including in audits, appeals or collections, and we do not take on cases that are many years behind. Our strength is the step most people need first: accurate returns and a clear, documented response. If your file needs audit representation, we tell you at the first review so you can bring in the right professional early.
Staying current afterwards
Once you are caught up, the goal is to stay that way. Self-employed clients usually move to quarterly estimated payments through our tax planning service, and their returns each spring become routine individual tax preparation. If you are a freelancer, see how we work with individuals and freelancers, or see all our tax services.
Back-tax work is quoted by the number of years and returns involved. Book a free review of your letter or situation.
