We see it every day here at Washington Tax Services: customers who don't file because 1. They lost their info; 2. Their ex-wife ran away with the documents; 3. They owed money and so didn't file due to fear of the repercussions; 4. Their accountant died - and the docs were shredded; or 5. They were alcoholics or drug addicts, and tax compliance was at the bottom of their priority list.
There are numerous reasons for not filing your tax returns. It is safe to say that the longer you avoid the issue the harder it is to break out of it.
People in this situation contact us through two motivations:
1. Their conscience and/or will outweighs whatever inability they have to act.
2. The IRS breaks their delay tactics for them, by filing the returns for them and in some cases appointing a Revenue Officer to pursue the debt and the returns.
If you lost your records, there are two things to know:
1. Most if not all documents, W2s, 1099's, etc. can be recovered from the IRS.
2. If you can't locate your bank statements, etc. for your business expenses, you may use your best year of bookkeeping as a template for other years.
