What steps can I take on my own and what should I keep in mind to address my tax situation, given that I fell into a bad mental state a few years ago and may need to seek the assistance of accountants to get back on track, with a focus on resolving potential issues with the IRS and the state of Massachusetts, even though I believe I've received tax refunds in the past?
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Robert James, 20+ years of experience in IRS mattersAnswered on September 16,2023
If you've only worked W-2 jobs then you probably only have to file 2019 - 2022 right now, and you don't NEED a tax professional to help you unless you owe a lot of money.
If you are due a refund for 2019, you need to file that return ASAP.
You can access your Wage and Income transcripts online for the last ten years:
You'll need to verify with your driver's license and a selfie with ID.me to access your online IRS account.
This will have your W-2s and any 1099s in a partially redacted format. It won't have any state income tax information, and it won't have any health insurance documents (1095 forms) that you might need for your state return.
Next to to FreeTaxUSA - they have several years available in the Prior year menu. You should start with 2019 to see if you might be due a refund. If you don't have your original tax documents, you can use the numbers from your Wage and Income transcript; just make up a number for the EIN and employer address, etc for W-2s. You can only file a paper return for 2019, so it doesn't matter if the EIN matches or not.
You can request full Wage and Income transcripts from IRS, but you have to call or make an appointment at an office. You'll need to verify some information from your last tax return you filed, and you want to request Unmasked Wage and Income transcripts. They will mail the transcript to you if you request it on the phone, do make sure they have the correct mailing address.
You can try contacting a free tax preparation program through this website:
You can create an account and ask for help with how to get state income tax information if you don't have your original W-2s etc. If you qualify for tax preparation, they can e-file your 2020 - 2022 returns which will help a lot with processing time.
There might not be enough time for you to use them for 2019 though.
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