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Innovative Tax Relief

Back taxes help

Back Taxes Help: Resolve Unpaid IRS Tax Debt

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Back taxes are unpaid IRS taxes from prior years. The longer back taxes sit unpaid, the more penalty and interest compound on top of the original balance, and the closer the IRS moves to a wage garnishment or bank levy. We handle back taxes from one year old to twenty years old.

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BBB A+ accredited IRS Enrolled Agent

Overview

Back Taxes Help: The Essentials

Two things accumulate when taxes go unpaid: penalty and interest. The failure-to-file penalty is the bigger of the two, accruing at 5 percent per month up to 25 percent of the unpaid balance. The failure-to-pay penalty is smaller at 0.5 percent per month, but it runs longer because it stops only when the balance is paid in full.

Many of our back taxes cases involve a stack of unfiled returns. The IRS will not negotiate a settlement or installment plan until every required return is filed. We prepare the unfiled back-year returns first, then move into resolution.

How this case usually unfolds

Compliance restored

Behind Several Years · Back Taxes

Back-tax cases usually involve a stack of unfiled years and a balance that grew with penalties and interest. We file the missing years first, often replacing IRS-generated Substitute for Returns that overstated the tax, and only then negotiate the balance, because the IRS will not settle until you are compliant.

Sound similar to yours?

No two cases are identical, but patterns repeat. Talk to one of our Enrolled Agents to find out which programs apply to your situation.

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What Are Back Taxes, and When Do You Need Back Taxes Help?

Back taxes are any federal income tax, payroll tax, or self-employment tax that you owed in a prior year and did not pay. Back taxes also include taxes the IRS assessed against you on a Substitute for Return (SFR) — a return the IRS files for you when you fail to file, usually inflating your tax liability because it assumes no deductions.

If you owe back taxes, the IRS treats the unpaid balance as a collection account. It accrues interest daily and triggers a predictable escalation pattern: notice, second notice, final notice, federal tax lien, then levy or wage garnishment. Each step narrows your options. Acting before a lien is filed leaves the most room to negotiate.

Back taxes do not expire on their own. The IRS has a 10-year collection statute from the date of assessment to collect a balance, but that clock pauses for several things (bankruptcy, pending Offer in Compromise, time abroad). For unfiled years, the IRS can file a Substitute for Return that resets the clock.

Back Taxes Help: How to File and Resolve the Balance

Get the Full Picture

We pull IRS account transcripts for all open years. This tells us what the IRS thinks you owe, what was reported by third parties, and where the IRS may have filed a Substitute for Return on your behalf.

File Missing Returns

You cannot resolve back taxes while returns are unfiled. We prepare every missing year, often replacing IRS-generated Substitute for Returns that overstate your tax.

Negotiate the Balance

Once you are in compliance, we determine the right resolution: installment, partial pay installment, Offer in Compromise, or Currently Not Collectible.

Set up Future Compliance

We project the next year's tax bill and set up estimated payments so the same problem does not recur.

What a Past-Due Tax Obligation Costs You

Back taxes start as a single past-due balance. This guide breaks down the failure-to-pay penalty and interest that build on it, and what filing an extension does and does not postpone.

Discreet help

You Don't Have to Explain How It Happened

Owing the IRS can feel like something to hide. Plenty of the people who call us haven't told anyone, and some stopped opening the mail a while ago. That's far more common than it feels, and it's nothing we judge.

Your consultation is free and confidential. Once you hire us and Power of Attorney is on file, the IRS deals with us, so the calls and the back-and-forth stop landing on you.

How We Keep It Discreet

  • A free, confidential first conversation
  • No judgment about how it happened
  • Once Power of Attorney is filed, the IRS contacts us
  • Phone, secure document portal, and video, with no office visit

Federal programs

Nine IRS Programs. We Look Through Them All.

Most tax debt is resolved through one of these nine programs. Which one fits depends on your numbers, your filing history, and assessment dates.

Client reviews

What Clients Say About Working With Us

5.0 on Google across 404+ verified reviews. A few of them below; read them all on our reviews page.

My IRS tax issues are finally over!! If you need a trustworthy company to take care of back taxes, look these guys up!! Vic was awesome!!

BT Brent T. Aug 2025

All people that I have worked with have been knowledgeable and helpful. Peter gives me regular updates which are very much appreciated.

AD Angie D. Nov 2025

Peter explained and walked me through how they wood structure a favorable tax resolution. Peter and his team were able to negotiate an affordable monthly re payment plan for me and keep things on track.

PC Philip C. Oct 2025

This is a company that knows how to get things done and keeps you informed as progress is made. The team was always avaliable anytime day or night.

JY Jocelyn Y. May 2025

They were wonderful they made sure I was comfortable with everything before they even asked me for any information and they figured out the problem extremely quick I highly recommend

SL Shelby L. Feb 2026

If it wasn't for Ivy Fernandez and her professionalism i would have taken my business elsewhere, thank you so much Ivy

BF Baseball C. Dec 2024
Read all 404+ client reviews

Frequently asked

What People Ask About Back Taxes Help

How Many Years of Back Taxes Do I Have to File?

IRS policy generally looks for the last six years of returns to consider you compliant, even if you are missing more. We confirm the exact list from your IRS transcripts before preparing anything.

What Happens If I Owe Back Taxes?

Back taxes accrue penalties and interest and, left unresolved, lead to liens and levies. But they are resolvable: once your returns are filed, you can settle through an installment agreement, Offer in Compromise, Currently Not Collectible status, or penalty abatement.

Can I Settle Back Taxes for Less Than I Owe?

Sometimes, through an Offer in Compromise, if the IRS formulas show you cannot pay the full balance. More often, back taxes are resolved through a payment plan or penalty abatement. We tell you which is realistic before filing anything.

How Far Back Can the IRS Collect Back Taxes?

The IRS generally has ten years from the date a tax is assessed to collect it (the Collection Statute Expiration Date). That clock can pause for things like a pending Offer in Compromise or bankruptcy. For unfiled years the clock may not have started, which is one reason filing matters.

What Is the 3 Year Rule for IRS?

It refers to two different clocks. For audits, the IRS generally has three years from your filing date to examine a return. For refunds, you generally have three years from the due date to claim one before it is forfeited. Neither limits how long the IRS can collect a balance you already owe, which runs on a separate ten-year clock.

What If I Cannot Afford to Pay My Back Taxes?

Inability to pay is a recognised position, not a dead end. Currently Not Collectible status pauses collection when documented income does not cover basic living expenses. A partial-pay installment agreement lets you pay less than the full balance across the remaining collection period. Both require a financial statement on Form 433-A or 433-F.

How Many Years Will the IRS Give You to Pay Back Taxes?

Installment agreements are generally structured inside the remaining collection statute, which runs ten years from assessment. Under $50,000 the terms are largely standard. Above that, or where returns are missing, the IRS requires Form 433 and the monthly figure is set by which of your expenses it treats as allowable, which is where the negotiation actually happens.

Related services

Cases Often Touch More Than One Service

Many cases start in one category and shift as we understand the numbers. Here are the services this one most often pairs with.

Unfiled tax returns

Unfiled Tax Returns Help

Unfiled tax returns are the most common problem we fix, and the one people are most afraid to face. The good news: filing years of unfiled taxes is almost always better than the alternative. Nothing else with the IRS can move (no payment plan, no settlement, no levy release) until your missing returns are filed. We prepare and file every unfiled year, in the right order, and take the fear out of getting current.

Learn more

Tax audit help

IRS Tax Audit Help & Audit Defense

If you received an IRS audit letter, do not panic and do not respond on your own. The first response sets the entire scope of the audit. IRS audit defense by a licensed tax representative keeps the audit narrow, prevents expansion to other years, and protects against the most expensive mistake: saying too much.

Learn more

Offer in Compromise

Tax Settlement Services: IRS Offer in Compromise

Tax settlement services are the work of resolving an IRS balance for less than the full amount, and the Offer in Compromise is the federal program that does it. The IRS accepts a settlement only when it agrees it cannot realistically collect more, so the formulas have to be run before anything is filed. That is the part we do first.

Learn more

Nationwide · all 50 states

Back Taxes Help in All 50 States

IRS representation is federal, so we handle Back taxes help for clients in all 50 states, by phone, secure portal, and video. We keep dedicated local pages for the metros we serve most.

Florida local pages

Back taxes help in West Palm Beach, FL Back taxes help in Miami, FL Back taxes help in Tampa, FL Back taxes help in Orlando, FL Back taxes help in Jacksonville, FL Back taxes help in Fort Lauderdale, FL Back taxes help in St. Petersburg, FL Back taxes help in Hialeah, FL Back taxes help in Cape Coral, FL Back taxes help in Port St. Lucie, FL Back taxes help in Tallahassee, FL Back taxes help in Sarasota, FL Back taxes help in Gainesville, FL Back taxes help in Pensacola, FL
IRS tax relief in Florida IRS tax relief in Texas IRS tax relief in California IRS tax relief in New York

Straight From the IRS

Everything on this page traces back to these IRS sources. They are what we work from every day.

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Links verified2026-08-26. irs.gov · taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov

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How much do you owe?

Less than $10,000 $10,000 – $19,999 $20,000 – $49,999 $50,000+
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