Filing for someone who is in jail

[a-myles]

Am I able to file income tax for a relative who is currently incarcerated?

[Lakeisha]

If he or she has taxable income that he should ask permission from the prison / jail authorities on how to file.

• If the person in question has taxable income that they need to report, then surely, they can still file an income tax return.  They would be well advised, however, to ask permission from the prison / jail authorities on mechanically how they are allowed to do so (e.g., e-file or postal mail; or from within the facility itself or with outside assistance).  They should be permitted to file a tax return as a matter of federal law, but the procedure may well vary by facility, so that's why it's a good idea to ask someone first.

• Another important thing to keep in mind is that if the incarcerated individual has taxable income that they need to report, then it would be further crime, if you will, to not file a tax return . . . and we certainly wouldn't want to add potential charges of tax evasion onto whatever other legal troubles may already be existing.  The government and the legal system wouldn't impose such a burden on the individual either, since it would really be unfair to deny an incarcerated person the right file an income tax return.  Therefore, the law does indeed allow for the filing of tax returns for incarcerated persons, absolutely.

Please let me know if this helps or if you have further questions.

[Vikki92411]

Hi, 

My brother is incarcerated and he is asking me to file his taxes for him. He has been incarcerated since 2001. He says he can file because he work inside the prison, but for an outside company. I’m sure he can’t go that many years back but I do want to help him if I can. Is this legal and how can I help ? 
Thanks 

[Critter]

All prior year returns (including 2018 now)  must be paper filed by mail and the returns must be signed.  If they have a refund only 2016 thru 2018 refunds are available now... all prior year refunds are now forfeited.

So get the fed/state forms & instructions from the fed/state website, print them, manually complete them for mailing.  If he doesn't have the tax reporting forms ( ie W-2)  then they can be gotten from the IRS on a wage transcript ( no state info on these)  or  from the SS administration. 

I NEED A COPY OF MY W-2

TurboTax does not have a copy of your W-2—the Wage & Tax Statement—issued to you by your employer, (nor does TurboTax have copies of your 1099’s).   You should always save those documents for your own records. You could ask the employer(s) for copies or you can get a copy from Social Security (for a fee of $86).

If you saved a pdf of your completed tax return, the worksheets will show the W-2 information you entered, but not the actual W-2.

To get a copy of a W-2 from Social Security https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-02501

https://www.irs.gov/help-resources/tools-faqs/faqs-for-individuals/frequently-asked-tax-questions-an...

You can get a wage and income transcript from the IRS:  It will not show the actual W-2, 1099’s, etc, but will show the income information the IRS received.  It will not, however, show your state information. It will only show the federal information.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript

[Vikki92411]

Thank you very much for your time. That gives me a starting point. 
Victoria