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Do I have to file taxes for my brother who is incarcerated and has no access to his papers to file income tax for 2018. We would need his deductions, etc.

He was an independent contractor and so would need his deduction records, etc., to file.  These are completely inaccessible. 

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Do I have to file taxes for my brother who is incarcerated and has no access to his papers to file income tax for 2018. We would need his deductions, etc.

That's a family matter, it's up to you.  He is required to file and will pay penalties if he doesn't, depending on how much he owes and what kind of estimated payments he made.

You are not required to file for him, and you are not allowed to file for him without his consent.  If you get his cooperation, I suggest you help him prepare his return, print it out and take it to him to sign, and mail it in, so there is no dispute later over whether or not he gave consent for you to electronically sign in his name.

If he doesn't want to cooperate, you should not try and file for him.

Do I have to file taxes for my brother who is incarcerated and has no access to his papers to file income tax for 2018. We would need his deductions, etc.

Thank you for your answer!  Consent is not the issue; the issue is that we do not have access to any of his paperwork - (deductions, etc.) - it was all confiscated, so it isn't possible to file.  I'm just wondering if I have to notify the IRS of the situation?

Do I have to file taxes for my brother who is incarcerated and has no access to his papers to file income tax for 2018. We would need his deductions, etc.

There isn't really anything you can do now.  If you had applied for an extension by April 15 that would give you until October 15 to still be considered "on time."  If you end up being late, you can request a waiver of the penalty for cause.  

It sounds more like you need to work with his attorney and the prosecutor to get access to the documents you need.  I guess it will depend on whether he was arrested for some kind of business fraud (so the financial documents are related to the reason for the arrest) or if he was arrested for some other reason and it happens that when they cleaned out his office and seized his computer they also got the tax records.

This should be part of the legal representation.
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