The information in this article is up to date for tax year 2025 (returns filed in 2026).
Filing taxes is your responsibility when you earn income. If you didn’t file or pay your bill, there was probably a reason why. However, you’ll want to get back on track to avoid penalties. Here’s what to expect if you didn’t file taxes last year, plus what to know if you don’t file or pay your tax bill in general.
Key takeaways: How to file old taxes
- If you’ve missed a filing deadline, you should file as soon as possible—even if you can’t pay immediately—to reduce penalties and interest.
- If your income was below the required filing threshold, you typically don’t need to file and won’t incur penalties. However, you may still benefit from filing. For instance, if you’re owed a tax refund, you have to file a return in order to claim it.
- You don’t have to file a prior year return before your current tax year return, but it’s a good idea to file as soon as you can.
What happens if I don’t file my taxes?
If you don’t file your taxes by the deadline, the IRS typically starts by sending you a letter in the mail. They’ll never reach out for a first-time notice by phone, email, text, or social media.
If you ignore the notices, they may escalate their efforts, potentially involving collections, liens, or levies. Note that if the IRS places a tax lien on your property due to unpaid taxes, that lien becomes a public record, which could affect your credit and be visible to lenders or businesses.
In extreme cases, they may assign a case to a revenue officer who could visit in person.
Failing to file your taxes is illegal, and the consequences can include:
- A 5% failure-to-file penalty for each month you haven’t filed or paid your bill, up to 25% of the amount you owe.
- A 0.5% failure-to-pay penalty for each month your tax bill is late, up to 25% of the amount you owe.
- Interest on your unpaid taxes continues to accrue until your bill’s been paid in full.
- The IRS may file a tax return on your behalf, and it’s likely without the deductions or exemptions that could reduce your tax liability.
- To make up for unpaid taxes, the IRS can seize your wages, bank accounts, and property.
- In rare and extreme cases, failing to file can lead to misdemeanor or felony tax evasion charges, including potential jail time.
If you’ve missed a filing deadline, it’s best to file as soon as possible, even if you can’t pay right away, to minimize penalties and interest.
Do I have to file taxes every year?
Most people do need to file a tax return every year, but it depends on your income, filing status, and age. If you earn above the minimum income threshold for your situation, you’re required to file. Even if you’re not required, filing can be beneficial because you might qualify for a refund.
What if I didn’t make enough to file taxes last year?
If you didn’t make enough income to be required to file taxes, you generally don’t have to file and won’t face penalties. But even if you aren’t required to file, you might want to if:
- You had taxes withheld from your paycheck, because you could be eligible for a refund.
- You qualify for tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Child Tax Credit (CTC).
- You need proof of income for loans, housing, or benefits.
If you’re unsure, check the IRS filing thresholds for the tax year, or use the IRS’s “Do I Need to File a Tax Return?” tool on their website.
What should I do if I didn’t file my taxes last year?
You must file a prior year return if you didn’t file your taxes last year.
You’ll need your records to report your income and expense information for the year you are filing. You can access your tax records on the IRS website if you are missing any documents. Requesting a Wage and Income Transcript will allow you to see data from tax documents the IRS receives, such as Forms W-2, 1098, 1099, and 5498.
Steps for filing a previous year’s tax return
If you are filing taxes for the past three years, you can prepare your taxes with TaxSlayer and print them to mail to the IRS. If you are filing a return over three years past due, you’ll need to download those tax forms from the IRS website and then mail them to the IRS office in your state (the address can be found on your state return if you have a state filing requirement).
Step 1. You can download the editable PDF for each year you require. For example, if you need to file for 2021, download Form 1040 for 2021. Tax laws change each year, so you will want your return to be calculated according to the tax laws for that year.
Step 2. Include any payment you owe when you submit your prior year’s return. You may have to pay a penalty since you did not file your taxes last year. There are both failure to file and failure to pay penalties. In this case, you will receive a notice of penalty and interest fees you must pay in addition to any taxes owed.
Note: If you are getting a refund, you likely will not be subject to a penalty for late filing. But you must file within three years after the return is due to collect your refund.
Step 3. E-file or mail your return to the IRS.
Can I file taxes this year if I didn’t file last year?
Yes, you can still file your tax return this year even if you didn’t file last year. In most cases, your current return is prepared the same way as usual, using this year’s income, deductions, and credits. However, there are a few impacts to be aware of. If you were due a refund last year, it doesn’t carry forward automatically, you’d need to file the missed return separately to claim it. If you owed and didn’t file, penalties and interest may apply until that return is filed. When e‑filing, you will be asked for your prior-year Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) to verify your identity. If you didn’t file last year, you can usually enter $0 or select the option indicating you did not file. If the IRS still can’t verify your identity, you may need to file by mail or use an IRS Identity Protection PIN (if you have one).
What if I filed my taxes but didn’t pay my tax bill?
If you filed a tax return but didn’t pay your bill, you will be charged a fee for late payment. The failure-to-pay penalty is usually 0.5% of your tax bill per month that it was late. If you filed before the tax filing deadline, the fee will be lower than if you filed late. But beware of compounding interest on your unpaid tax bills.
To avoid this, you can enroll in an installment plan through the IRS to pay off your tax bill bit by bit. If you owe less than $50,000, this is a great option to tackle your tax bill.
What if I don’t have enough money to pay my taxes?
If you don’t have enough money to pay your taxes, don’t panic — you still have options. Here’s what you can do:
- File your return anyway. This will prevent the failure-to-file penalty from growing.
- Apply for a payment plan. To avoid penalties, you can enroll in an installment plan through the IRS to pay off your tax bill bit by bit. If you owe less than $50,000, this is a great option to tackle your tax bill.
- Request an offer in compromise. In rare cases, you may settle for less than you owe.
- Request a temporary delay. If you’re facing financial hardship, the IRS may delay collection.
What if I miss the April 15th deadline?
File as soon as possible, even if you miss the original deadline.
You will immediately start to accumulate a failure-to-file penalty if you owe money toward your tax bill. The combined failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalty is 5% and caps off at 25% of your unpaid taxes.
On the other hand, if you are expecting a refund, you won’t be charged any fees. But you must file within three years of the original due date to claim your refund. The IRS will send you your refund once you file.
What if I am approved for an extension?
An extension gives you extra time to file your income tax return for that year. Typically, you will have until October 15 to submit your taxes to the IRS.
It’s important to note that an extension is only for filing your return. It does not give you extra time to pay your tax bill. Even if you’ve filed an extension, you must pay at least 90% of your balance by April 15. The failure to pay penalty is less than the failure to file one, but will still start at 0.5% of your tax bill. And you’ll still face the same compounding interest mentioned in the section above.
