# Advice on Filing Back Tax Returns



## Serenitynow200027 (Jan 19, 2020)

Hi

I am looking for some advice on how I should get caught up with my tax returns. 

Here is a small history. I moved to Canada in 2008. I initially tried to keep up with my US returns but I had no idea what I was doing. I had some advice from my CPA back home and I did file at one time a FEIE but had little understanding of what I was doing. 

I want to get caught up with this. I make around 60k CAD a year and I am married to a Canadian who does not have to file a US return. We do not own a home and I do not have any money in savings. 

I know that I have not filed in 3-4 years. When I look for assistance here in Canada it seems like it will cost hundreds of dollars. 

I don't know what direction I should go in or how to start. 

Should I file all my back tax returns at once? Should I only file this years return and go from there? Should I pay hundreds of dollars for legal advice?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, 

Thank you,


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

OK, assuming you need and/or want to get caught up, you're a perfect candidate for the Streamlined Compliance Procedure. Details are here: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/int...-taxpayers-residing-outside-the-united-states Be sure to click through on the two links at the bottom of the page, including the video "webinar" thing.

Unless your income (your personal income, without respect to your husband's income) is over the FEIE limit or you have significant personal "passive" income, there probably isn't any real need to rush with all this.

You'll need to file the current year (i.e. 2019) plus 3 years back (2018, 2017 and 2016) according to the instructions for the Streamlined Compliance program.

The best advice is to keep your filings simple. If you have US source income, you should have W-2s or 1099s - and the IRS will also have a copy of these documents. For anything sourced from outside the US, they'll pretty much have to accept your good faith estimates for the amounts involved (as well as how you characterize the income).

To start with, you might try just filing your 2019 return (since you're already well within the time limits) and see how it turns out. You can try using one of the Free File providers on the IRS website. https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free None of the Free File providers will let you back file for free, but their charges for the last 3 filing years are considerably cheaper than a living, breathing professional and if your situation is fairly simple, they should go pretty quickly. 

In any event, don't panic. There is no evidence that the IRS is getting all gung ho to track down non-filers overseas, particularly those who don't owe anything anyhow.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Is there any particular reason why you feel compelled to attempt US tax compliance? It's not like the IRS actually cares. If you plan to live your life in Canada, become a Canadian citizen and forget about US tax obligations.


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