I have no idea how to do taxes, haven't done taxes, and have no paperwork kept around. What to do?

You have options, and you still have time to file these tax returns. You might not need to file for all the past years you worked - it really depends on whether you had enough income taxes withheld from your paychecks to cover the taxes you owe on your income.

You can call IRS and tell them you want to find out what tax years need to be filed in order to get into compliance, and ask them to mail you Unmasked Wage and Income transcripts so you can file the returns. You can go to H&R Block. You can find a local CPA or Enrolled Agent - now is actually a decent time because many tax pros won't be as busy as they are during regular tax season.

You can also go to a free tax preparation program, but you'll need to do the legwork to get your income information. Tax pros and big tax prep chains usually have a way to access your IRS Wage and Income transcripts, but the free tax preparation programs do not.

Free tax preparation programs are usually available Feb 1 through April 15. There are some that go until October, and Get Your Refund (the virtual option) is available until October. If you want to check for locations near you, here are the links:

Free Tax Return Preparation for Qualifying Taxpayers

GetYourRefund

If you don't see any in-person locations near you now check again in late December.

You can get your IRS Wage and Income transcripts. Try to get them online:

Get Your Tax Record

These won't have the full Employer Identification Numbers or EINs, which are required in order to e-file a tax return. But a federal tax return can be prepared and mailed in.

If you want the full EINs so you can get returns e-filed you need to either call IRS and answer some verification questions on the phone or make an appointment to go in person to get printed transcripts.

IRS transcripts do not have any state income tax information, and they do not have any health insurance coverage information. You might need to get that information depending on what state you live in.

You can file just 2022 now, if you have all your income documents or a transcript. If you are due a refund for 2022 then IRS might hold the refund until you file the last couple of years as well (2020 and 2021).

Or you can wait until next year and just file 2023 and see what happens.

Or you can get your IRS transcripts and try to get 2020 - 2022 filed through Get Your Refund in the next month. If you have transcripts with full EINs they still have time to e-file those years for you. If not - say you only can get the online transcript with redacted EINs - they probably can prepare the returns but you'll have to print them out and mail them in.

If you were due a refund for 2020 you have until April 2024 to still file that return and claim a refund.

Btw the food truck should have reported all your income on a W-2 form, even if they sent you untaxed money through venmo or cash or whatever. It's possible you'll owe some taxes if they didn't withhold enough from regular paychecks.

If they treated you as an independent contractor and didn't withhold any taxes, they should have reported all your income on a 1099-NEC. You will definitely need to file a return in that case, and I would recommend looking into whether you were a misclassified employee because that can save you quite a bit in taxes.