Filing past year tax returns aren’t fun — and it isn’t supposed to be!
The IRS has designed the process so that the average taxpayer will strongly prefer filing on the due date. While that’s fine as a way to encourage people to file early, it’s not such a great way to get people to file once the deadline has passed. Fortunately, it’s possible to prepare your tax return online — and you can even start for free, and only complete the filing once you know what you’re getting!
So what, exactly, does the IRS do to make filing late taxes a pain? There are a couple techniques they’ve perfected:
- Fines, fees, and all that: If you didn’t submit your return, you’ll owe fines based on the amount of taxes you owe. You may also owe straight dollar-mount fines.
- Interest: On top of those fines, you’ll have to pay interest, at an above-market rate! This can start to stack up fast, especially if you let it compound.
- Paper filings, only: Adding insult to injury, even though we’re in the digital age (you’re reading this on a computer screen, right?), you still have to file past year tax returns on paper.
But there’s a way around that one! Even though you have to file past year tax returns by printing up a document, nothing will stop you from preparing your past year tax returns online, printing them up and filing.
In fact, not only will nothing stop you, but you can get a great deal while you’re at it! How?
It’s simple: since nobody likes the “sticker shock” of owing a tax preparation fee for filing a late tax return that cost them more than they expected, some sites that help people file past year tax returns also offer free return preparation until the filing happens.
In other words, you can prepare the information, figure out exactly what you owe and whether or not you can pay it, and only then will you have to pay to file past year tax returns. And you’ll probably find that you owe less than you think! Late filers are generally more likely to get a refund, and their refunds tend to be larger.
My question is,, can i file my 2009 and 2010 back taxes for one amount? I started my 2009 taxes and was ready to file and it asks for a fee of 34.95. But i also need to file my 2010 back taxes, just want to know if I can file both for the one time fee?
Thank you
Hector Figueroa
Hi Hector,
I’m glad to hear that you’re interested in working with us!
You can prepare both returns with us for two separate prices. Although you will need to pay separately for your 2009 and 2010 tax return preparation, we always have promotions going on to apply toward your current year tax returns. When you are ready to file your current year tax return, call our tax team at 877-289-7580 and mention that you were referred via our blog! We will apply a special coupon code to your current year tax return fees.
I haven’t filled since 2010
Can you help me
Yes, you can prepare your prior year taxes with http://www.priortax.com very easily. Once you have gathered all of your information to report on your return, simply create and account for the tax year to report your information. Once you completed this process, your return will be prepared and you will be provided with a PDF copy for filing.