How do you file back taxes?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
August 19, 2020
15 replies
77 views

I have a W-2 thats a few years old.

TurboTax Free Edition Online

rjs

Level 15

You cannot use TurboTax Online to file for a past year. TurboTax Online is only for the current tax year, which is now 2019. To file for an earlier year you have to use the CD or download TurboTax software for the year that you need. You can purchase a download at the following link. There is no free filing for past years.

Past Years' Products

You might get a better price from a reputable online seller that still has TurboTax in stock for the year that you need.

Tax returns for past years cannot be e-filed. You will have to print your past-year tax return, sign it, and file it by mail. The IRS stopped processing mailed tax returns for several months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. They just recently started to process them again, but they have limited staff and a huge backlog, so it will be quite a while before your past-year tax return is processed.

TurboTax no longer supports years earlier than 2016. It's too late to get a refund for 2016 or earlier. You can file the tax return, but if it shows a refund you will not get the refund. If it shows a payment due, you have to pay it.

5050dog

Level 2

do 2017 n 2018

PattiF

Level 15

It is too late to file a return electronically for those years.

If you’re due a tax refund (normally April 15th), you must file with the IRS within three years of the original due date. Taxpayers have, however, more time until May 17, 2021, to request a missed refund, as a result of the IRS’s recent extension of the 2017 tax deadline. The deadline to get a refund from 2017 is passed.

You can still file a paper return for 2018. The deadline is April 18, 2022, to mail in your return. Here is a link from TurboTax to help you file for 2018.

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