How do I do my taxes for the last 3-4 years?
602025
Seek the advice of a local CPA.  Besides the taxes that are due, you'll have to pay interest and penalties.  If you haven'te made a lot of money, it might not be too painful for you. \n\nListen to your wife and make sure you file a tax return every year from now on!
368575
http://irs.gov should have all the forms you could possibly need.  W-4 is a federal form, I thought.
451889
great question.  I used to keep everything, now I try and get rid of it as it comes in.  Do I really need a copy of a phone bill from last January?  Probably not.  I have heard keeps tax stuff going back 3 years, but if you are audited they can go back 7 years, so use your judgement on that one!
1054307
Fill out a t1 adjustment form for the tax year and add the amount of the t4 to the appropriate line on your return and apply it to the appropriate tax year. Send to CCRA, Not a problem.
410356
I suggest you get your stuff together, starting now...as in life. IF you are earning an income, you will have little recourse but to file all taxes with whatever payment you can muster. You will be levied fines and interest and penalties. IF you have a bank account, I strongly suggest withdrawing all monies from it, as if you have much in it, it will be siezed as soon as the IRS checks your assets out. IF you own a home, there will be liens placed upon it for the amount you owe. \nIF you do not have an income...relax!  Just don't plan on having one for about 1 year. NOW, go to a tax lawyer, spread out the mess. They will help you file, with addends as to NOT BEING ABLE TO PAY....the IRS will settle for whatever they can get, as little as .01 on the $ owed. You will have to pay something, but not anything like you may owe. Once you have an agreement with the IRS, DO NOT BREAK IT IN ANY WAY...if you do break the agreement, you will have to start all over, and trust they will then begin to hound you. Get yourself legal in any way you can, for the energy you spend on worrying about the IRS is destructive to your future. You can come out of this clean, and when you do, stay that way! You cannot go 'underground' and ever expect to earn much money in cash...people cannot pay much in cash, for they will be paying the income tax on whatever they pay you...do not expect much in the way of wages when you work this way. Be aware that anything and everything you own is subject to siezure IF you do not come clean... IF THEY Find out about your 'activities' before you tell them about it, they will come down on you hard....it is called tax evasion, and you can go to prison for it...doubtful, but certainly can happen. Once you file returns, they cannot jail you...they can just go after whatever they can get. Act now, this will not get better with time. Good luck
980102
You should always keep 5 years worth of your tax paperwork in case of an audit.  Companies are only required to keep them for like 2-3 years, so you can contact them, but if it's been longer than that, it'll be a chance you can get copies.
955713
The IRS only requires that you file the last three years in most cases (very high earners are asked for six years).\n\nRead the following from the London US Embassy's IRS FAQ:\n\n"I am a U.S. citizen who moved to the U.K. several (or many) years ago and thought I did not have to file U.S. tax returns any longer. Now I have learned that information was incorrect. What do I do?\n\n"This is a common misunderstanding among Americans abroad, and should not create anxiety for those who find themselves in this situation. Generally, you should file returns for the past three years, taking the foreign earned income exclusion, the foreign tax credit, or both. It would be extremely unlikely that there would be any late penalties assessed, since penalties are computed as a percentage of tax owed, and only the rare taxpayer would actually owe tax in this situation.\n\n"You may contact us for prior year tax forms, or download them from the IRS web site. To find older forms, enter the year required in the Search for... box on the top-left of the page. The search typically returns Forms and Publications for the year on which you will have searched."\n\nThe forms you need to start with are 1040 & 2555.  You can download these for free from the IRS website or buy older versions of Turbotax online.\n\nIf you earned more than $90,000 annually, you will also need 1116, 6251, 8801, and a real tax accountant to do the work for you (s/he has all the forms already).  If you have a foreign bank account with balances >$10,0000, you'll need Form TD F 90-22.1.  If you own >10% of  a corporation or partnership, you'll need Forms 5471 and/or 8865.  If you, your spouse, or your beneficiaries are the settlors, grantors or beneficiaries of any trusts, even if you get no income from the trusts, you'll need Forms 3520 and/or 3520A.  If you gave more than $10,000 to any foreigner, or received more than $10,000 as a gift from a foreigner, there's more paperwork.\n\nThere are tax specialists who handle cases like yours.  If any of the extra bits I mentioned apply, you should see one of them.
137338
You have to file last years taxes and this year's taxes.  Unfortunately they won't be able to process this year's by e-file because you didn't do last years.  You have to file the paperway, but if you do it early like by this weekend, you could probably see a refund by early april.  They don't usually charge a fine for filing late but they won't pay interest either if they owe you money.
1072007
Yes you can. You can get a copy of your taxes for any year. Simply fill out form 4506 of the IRS and pay $39 per tax. The form comes with instructions and address where to send it.
389442
Don't lie be very truthful. hopefully you have saved all of your information into a nice file folder for the last three years because I believe that's how far back they can go. If not gather that info from the necessary sources and send copies in by certified mail. If they are coming to you, be prepared to sit all day. If you are self employed you should make it a habit of keeping your books up to date and saving all pertinent receipts. As long as you know the info is correct on your previous taxes, you have nothing to worry about.
366299
On-line? CompleteTax.\n Been using them for years.
803268
You have three years from the due date of your 2003 return to amend it. If you did not extend the 2003 return you have three years from April 15,2004 to amend your 2003 return. If you extended the return you could have three years from either August 15th or October 15th. In other words you have until April, 15, 2007.\nThe IRS can audit for this three year period. They can also audit for a six year period, but they have to know that you understated your income by 25% or more to be able to audit beyond the three years.
257104
Unless you know exactly what your income and deductions will be, it is difficult to break even, but using 2005's information you should be able to make a pretty good estimate of how much tax you will pay in 2006. Use that estimate to set your withholding. \n\nI do this every year and shoot for a slight surplus ($300 or so).
467538
First, in cases OTHER than fraud, the IRS has three years from receipt of your return to question the return.  If you have no basis for reopening these old returns, DON'T.  You'll just create significant problems for yourself.\n\nFix the '03, and '04 returns, and ask the IRS to waive the penalties and interest when you pay the tax owed.  An accountant would be able to help you sort out your tax liability and help you negotiate with the IRS.\n\nGood luck.
1081602
FOREVER\n\nincome tax returns\nincome tax payment checks\nlegal records (marriage, divorce, death certificates, etc)\nretirement and pension records\nrecords related to a home/property you own (retain for six years after property sale)\nhome/property improvement receipts (if tax-related; retain for six years after property sale)\nrecords related to insurance claims, including medical, and/or car accidents (major)\nrecords related to inheritances/financial gifts received (major)\n\n\nSIX YEARS\n\nbank statements, reconciliations and cancelled checks\ncanceled payroll, pay stubs and dividend checks\nother personnel and payroll records\nsupporting documents for tax returns\ncar accident reports and insurance claims, including medical (minor)\nmedical bills (if tax-related)\nstock, mutual fund and bond transaction records (keep for 6 years beyond selling)  ... you can dispose of monthly statements after detailed annual summary is provided by investment company\nrecords related to inheritances/financial gifts received (minor)\nnon real estate loans that have been paid off\n\n\n\nTHREE YEARS\n\ncredit card statements\nroutine medical claims such as prescriptions and check ups (in case of insurance disputes)\nutility records (for internal use)\nexpired insurance policies\n\n\n\nOTHER\n\ncar records (keep until the car is sold)\ncredit card receipts (keep until verified on your statement)\nin force insurance policies (keep for the life of the policy)\nmortgages / deeds / leases (keep 6 years beyond the agreement)\nreceipts needed for warranties (keep for as long as you own item)\nwill/estate documents (keep forever, and provide copies to executor, as well as primary beneficiaries)
72901
i think you can go into one of those tax services like at amscot or hrblock with you last paystub and it shouldn't be a problem as long as everything is correct and up to date.
1172391
Some of your answers posted are incorrect.\n\nMost states work off a system similar to the Federal/IRS system.\nThis means you have three years from April 15 of the year following the year you are reporting.\nFor example, you have until April 15, 2008 to file a return for tax year 2004 (originally due on April 15, 2005).  Since most states share electronic information with the IRS, if you are in good standing with them, the state will notify you by letter of any amount due.\nIf they owe -you- money, they will -not- notify you.  You only have three years to claim an amount owed to you.\n\nState penalties for tax avoidance are in most cases much less than Federal penalties.\n\nMost employers automatically withhold the proper amount (within a few dollars) of your state taxes owed.  If you had federal taxes withheld from your check and filed a federal return, you should really not worry about it at all.\n\nIf you are self-employed, or had employees working for your business, it is a whole other story.  You should then consider hiring a tax expert or attorney as in these cases the possibility of severe fines and penalties can be real.\n\nOtherwise, don't worry about the state issue unless they contact you.\n\nI hope this has been helpful.