My friend has never filed taxes, will he owe money?

He is 23 and this will be his first year filing. Will he owe a lot of money, and can he still get refund money from past years?

If he's been working for more than a couple of years at jobs where taxes are withheld from his pay and has not heard from the IRS yet it's a virtual certainty that he doesn't owe any taxes for the prior years. Most likely he has refunds coming for those years but unfortulately he can only get them for tax years 2004 through 2006. 2003 and earlier years are now closed and any refunds from those years are forever lost. You must file and claim any refund within 3 years of the filing deadline for the tax year in question or you lose your right to your money.

If his income was below the filing requirement amount in any past year there is no need to file except to claim a refund of any taxes withheld.

If he had "under the table" income in the past it's possible that the IRS does not know about it. However there is a definite risk that they will find out about it someday and come looking for it. The statute of llimitations clock does not start ticking until you file your return so those years are essentially open forever until he filles if his income exceeded the filing requirement amount in any of those years. Needless to say that could be expensive now since he will be hit with penalties for late filing and penalties and interest for late payment of tax. That could double or even triple what he owes if it's carried out long enough.

He should file any missing returns quickly. The deadline for a refund from 2004 is next April. File the returns that show a refund first and follow through with any that have a debt. Hang onto any refunds until everthing is filed and the dust settles on any debt if there is one and use the refunds to pay down as much of the debt as possible.

It would depend on how much he made over the years. He should consult a tax accountant, for a correct answer.

How would he get a refund if he didn't even claim his income? If anything, he might have to owe in if they audit him and see his was working without filing a tax return.... and honestly, tax evasion is a huge crime...could possibly result in jail time.

There are penalties for not filing. I hate to say it, but there will most likely be more fees than what he would be getting.

You only pay tax if you have earned any money. You also only get refunds if you have paid any tax.

Yes or no, Yes if he owes the IRS, and No if he gets a refund. Go to H and R block to get taxes done... It's worth it

Well..depends on when he started making a paycheck.

My brother probably started when he was around 20.

He will most likely owe because of penalties, but you should talk to someone with more expertise about that. His best bet is to be completely honest from now on.. and see if he can get the IRS to help (because filing wrong= even more penalties). If you cooperate IRS agents are more inclined to help you out.

You can get refunds up to 3 years prior...but they can collect for up to 10 years. The best thing for him to do would be to go to a professional, have all his back taxes filed and go from there. If he owed money on any of the years he didn't file for, penalties will be building up, so th e sooner he handles it, the better.

Depends on how much he made in the prior years. If his annual income was low enough for him not to owe, he won't owe anything for those prior years. He can file his prior years' taxes and get a refund paid back to him for up to three years ago.

He can only get a refund if it has been less than 2 years but he is still required to file regardless of how long it has been.

I went a few years without filing and one day got a check from the IRS for $1,400. I guess they audited me. I called them up and they said it was no mistake, the money was owed to me.
Weird.
It depends on what he claimed and how much he made.
He should always file.

if he did not owe taxes for the years he did not file he will be able to get his refunds.

more than likely at his age, he was taxed at a high enough rate that he would get a refund unless he made a large amount of money

tell him to get on it. If he does owe - the problem will only get bigger and bigger because penalties and fees accrue at a horrific rate.

he is probably just worried about nothing and just needs to take the plunge and do it. He should go to H&R Block - they can do it for him and they have seen this all before so there is no need to be embarrassed.

i highly dought he can get refund money and he definitley owes a lot of money he should have started filing taxes when he was like 18 years old. the price he owes will keep rising and he probably owes more than what he would have gotten back in refunds anyway.

If he never had income he probably doesn't owe anything. More importantly - who is going to stop the freekin' patriots. They are apparently unstopable.

If he made less than 3,000 per year since he has been working he will not even have to file.
But if he has made more than 3,000 in any given year he has to file. Now depending on how much he has made and the number of dependents he has claimed will determind how much he wil get back or have to pay.

He can get in lot of trouble for not filing for past years. he needs to file seperate returns for the last 5 years as well. He may owe money, he may be entitled to refunds. It all depends on his income and tax statuses. He should contact a CPA now to get it all straightened out. If he doesn't backfile, he may end up in jail

Is he Al Capone? isn't that tax evasion? Al Capone took part in a lot of murders and probable whacked a few himself, in Gangland Chicago, but he was put away for One Count of Tax Evasion. Get my drift???

How much did he make in past years? At 23 - was he a student the past few years and counted as a dependent on his parents tax return- he is basically safe, especially if he made minimal $ at a part time job- tax filing not required under certain amount- can't recall offhand but I think maybe $2000.00 for the year?. If he did some work and had taxes withheld he may be able to get some refund for past year or 2 easily. If he had a full time job and didn't file - he may want to file 5 years of late returns and expect some late filing fee deductions off any possible refunds. If he was working for cash- no taxes withheld- and he now has been caught and must file he can expect no refunds and possible extra bills to stay out of jail, he was deliberately evading or attempting to evad taxes. What was his work history for past 5 years, Tax dependency status?

There are so many variables, it's really hard to say.
When did your friend become independent of his parents?
Did your friend have taxes taken out of his paychecks?
Does your friend have claimable dependents?
Was your friend a student during the last 5 years?

There's a possibility that your friend has $$$ coming back, as long as he had money taken out of his checks.

That's a touchy situation. I am not sure, but think if you have the records (pay stubs), that you can file for years back. Especially if the IRS hasn't contacted him about taxes he owes, the likelihood is that he has money/return due back to him.
Contacting the IRS to ask about the years he didn't file would be a start, and info. they don't have the Social Security Administration will have the total income earned for those years not filed.
I'm sure some Tax Pros will confirm or deny my above statements as I am not an expert and tax laws change from year to year.

Whether or not he'll owe anything depends on how much income he has had in earlier years, and what he had withheld. Each year is looked at separately.

If he has a refund coming from 2004, 2005 or 2006, he can file and still get it, with no penalty. If he had refunds coming for years before 2004, it's too late to get them.

Depends on whether he's an illegal or not.

If he's legal it depends on how much he's been paid in the past.

In all probability the IRS won't have him on the top of their hit list. Nevertheless he ought to start saving for the bill now.

LMAO he will get arrested i know that. and he will owe about more then 15,000 dollars depending on how much he makes the more he makes the more money he owes.

I don't think so, if he does all of a sudden, he can sue the government becuase he never knew that untill now,,,,i don't know im just guessing. Is it even possible to sue th Government?

ddduuuuhhhhh