I have a joint partnership S-Corp that we started in December 2013. I just found out that I needed to have filed tax returns for every year of the business, although we never did anything with it until 2018.
Corporate tax returns are due by March 15th for each year. With an extension (which you obviously never filed) it would be due by Sept 15th. The late filing penalty for a corporate return is $200 per month, per member. So with only two owners and you haven't filed for 4-5 years, your penalty already exceeds $10K easily. So it's perfectly possible your S-Corp may already be bankrupt and you just don't know it yet. Then there's the minimum required distribution all owners are required to take each year. There's a penalty for not having done that too. As I see it at this point in time and with the limited information provided, you're already in some very deep kimshee.
Where do I start with the IRS and just how bad is this problem???
Start by hiring a tax professional who is well versed not only with federal taxes, but state taxes for whatever state the business is registered in, as well as any states the business may have conducted business in. A tax professional "might" be able to alleviate or at least reduce the fines and penalties that will be assessed by the IRS. Your state will also assess fines and penalties if you were required to provide any tax reporting to them and didn't. So you'll have a migraine and not just a headache. The cost of professional help is going to be a pittance in comparison to all the fines and penalties that have been and continue to accumulate. Then if the business has any taxable income when all is said and done, the cost of that professional help can be claimed and deducted as a business expense.
So get professional help yesterday, if not sooner.
