You have two basic choices, file jointly or separately. You would need his agreement and signature to file jointly, but it has the lowest tax rate and greatest eligibility for deductions. You would also be jointly responsible for penalties or jointly share a refund.
Or you can file separately. When married filing separately, you report your income and your deductions only. (That might be half of anything you paid jointly, like half the mortgage and property taxes, and all of any deductions that are yours alone, such as your medical expenses, your work-related expenses, or charity deductions if you went to church and your husband didn't, for example.) Married filing separately has higher tax rates and some deductions and credits are reduced or disallowed. But filing separately would clear your account with the IRS one way or the other, and leave him still on the hook.
However, if you are in a community property state (Wisconsin, Washington, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Louisiana, Idaho, California and Arizona), you generally need to split "community" income equally regardless of who earned it. Separate income is reported separately. Like, your jobs during the marriage are both community income. Stocks and bonds that you owned before the marriage would produce income that is solely your own.
You may want to seek professional help to file your old returns anyway, but consider it especially if you live in a community property state.
Start by documenting what was filed in the past and what the IRS has on file for you, by requesting tax transcripts. These are records of what the IRS has on file. Many of them can be obtained online, or they can be mailed to you in a few days. A tax return transcript is a listing of the tax return you filed. There may be one on file for years you didn't file, because the IRS has a record of your income and they may have created a substitute tax return using their own income records. This will stand in their system until you file an official tax return. The IRS also has a Wage and Income transcript, that lists any W-2s, 1099-MISC, and other income statements that they have on file. You would try and request as many wage and income transcripts and tax return transcripts as you can, using both your name and SSN and your husband's name and SSN, so you can document what has been done and what is on file.
To file "married filing separately" for 2014, 2013, etc., you need a copy of turbotax for each year installed on your own computer. (Online only does the current year.) Go to the main turbotax home page and look at the bottom for "products for previous tax years." You can purchase and download Turbotax for 2014, 2013 and 2012. Older is no longer available so if you need 2011 or earlier, you will need to see a professional or download the paper forms and instructions and file by hand. For each tax return, include your income and deductions only (for a separate return.) Print them out and sign them and mail them in, in separate envelopes (you can't e-file past years). you may want to use a mail service with tracking and delivery confirmation, like UPS, FedEx, or one of the upgraded US Mail services.
