Hello,

I am a client that did not file a return for tax year 2011 or 2012. They are now having their wages garnished. Do they need to file for these years prior to attempting to set up a payment plan?

You Must File Back Taxes, Even If Late
YOU NEeD TO FILE back taxes to analyze any unfiled tax returns and how much tax debt you owe. If you do not file, the IRS may complete a "Substitute for Return," which is not optimal as it is one tax return for all years. No federal exemptions or expenses will be applied and therefore increase your total tax liability. If the tax is assessed and the IRS completes a substitute return for you, they will begin collecting. This means they can place a tax levy on wages or bank accounts, or a federal tax lien on your personal personal property. Penalties and Interest will grow significantly and increase the total tax amount you owe the IRS if you didn't file and have taxes owed.
You will receive a Wage Withholding Order from your employer. Unless you take action, you can expect the garnishment to start in 30 days As soon as you receive the Wage Withholding Order from your employer, file a Wage Garnishment Judgment Exemption with the county clerk's office from which the withholding order originated. Do so immediately, as it can take one-to-two months for a hearing to be set on your behalf.

For this particular client, the garnishment has started. Is filing for the back years is still an option? I have been trying to research on their website and it is not very helpful. He's hoping to make a payment arrangement instead of the garnishment. It appears that he needs to file for those years before they would even consider a payment arrangement. Thank you so much for your response.

#1; Yes it is still an option


#2;coprrect; but Yes they do.

The IRS will not allow a resolution with out it.