A friend needs to file US tax returns for several years - he hasn’t been keeping up to date.
These guys are all over the internet:
greenbacktaxservices.com/exp … -services/
$379 for first year and $279 for each additional year
Does this seem reasonable? Or would you suggest trying to do them himself? He’s always been under the threshold ($80,000?) so they are fairly straightforward.
How complicated are his returns? All the forms and instructions can be downloaded from internet with mailing instructions,
If simple, do it himself. The IRA will accept even if in error and might make some corrections.
If lazy and a procrastinator, then pay someone else and get it done.
If he’s under the max, DIY. I missed 7 years and sent them all in at once. Never had a thang with the IRS. They don’t care about your friend, and won’t unless he shows up in the US and buys a house with cash.
Definately DIY. I had the same number at the same time as JD. Turned out that in one of the years after 9-11 there was a $300 tax credit that I got credited for although I had no U.S. income. I attached my Taiwan tax receipts, the A4 copies, with each return for each year to show that my income was under the max. for each year. I needed to convert to U.S. dollars and I was not sure of their annual conversion number so I just used 30:1 and explained so in the cover letter. You are no doubt so far under the approximately 80,000 U.S. exclusion that nobody is going to look twice. I had withdrawn some unvested retirement funds from the U.S. and never received a 1099 so I just claimed the amount received and told them I had no records of tax withheld. They used their information and I got that tax money that was withheld too. Turned out that there was absolutely no problem with my non-filing for 7 years and I got a very nice credit balance that I will get when I file this year.
I think you are worrying about an easy task. The forms are easy to download and the later years can be filled out right on the IRS PDF form and printed/saved for your records and also sent (only by mail right now but I understand that this may soon change). Include a cover letter with a detailed explanation and make sure you note that the address for us here is different than the address for U.S. residents. Be sure to send Fed Ex or the like so you have proof of receipt by the IRS.
I helped an acquaintance with several of his uncomplicated returns. It took about an hour for the first one but the others went quickly. If you really need to have some help PM me. I’m not a tax wizard but I can give some help.
I noted some months ago a post that there is a possibility of criminal penalties for late filing, etc. Just to clear that up, the answer is a resounding NO! there is not. Not in the U.S. at any rate. However, if fraud is involved, the taxpayer is in a world of deep criminal caca. Just buck up and get it done. Be honest and forthright. If you no longer have the records for the year you arrived and didn’t file in that year, simply explain and hope for the best for that year. The non-filed subsequent years should be no problem.
[quote=“Black Country Woman”]
$379 for first year and $279 for each additional year
Does this seem reasonable? Or would you suggest trying to do them himself? He’s always been under the threshold ($80,000?) so they are fairly straightforward.[/quote]
Not reasonable. No way. Either DIY or, if he’s not confident, there are much much cheaper things out there. For example, I use these guys: http://www.taxact.com/index.asp for my taxes, it’s $15 or something like that, all online, and they walk you through everything (I have some investments that make things more confusing than I feel like dealing with myself). I think they can do past years as well. With a bit of searching, he can probably find more services that are pretty similar.
But yeah, if it’s just wages and it’s less than $80,000, it should be dead easy.