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Richmond · Unfiled Returns

Unfiled tax return help in Richmond

We file missing tax returns for Richmond-area taxpayers and handle what comes next, up to a Tax Court case heard in Richmond.

Talk to our team today Or call (804) 485-1492

Our Richmond office helps you catch up on unfiled tax returns. We prepare the returns you missed and deal with what the IRS has already started. Some of that work is local: a Tax Court case tried in Richmond, a summons enforced in the Eastern District of Virginia, or a Fort Lee soldier's refund claim.

For most people, not filing leads to civil penalties rather than criminal charges. Our unfiled tax returns page explains how the IRS prepares a return for you, how many years you usually need to file, and when not filing becomes a crime.

Freelancers and contractors behind on estimated tax

If you freelance or work as an independent contractor around Richmond, the IRS may expect quarterly estimated tax payments from you. Missing them can bring a penalty, even when the mistake is honest. Our pages on the estimated tax penalty and on tax help for the self-employed explain the rules.

Most people who fall behind are not trying to cheat. Other honest mistakes can lead to penalties too: leaving side income off a return, claiming deductions you can't back up, or missing a filing deadline. That deadline moves to the next business day when April 15 falls on a weekend or holiday.

If you owe more than you can pay, the IRS still asks you to file every return that is due. Filing late and paying late each have their own penalty. Once a return is five months late, the failure-to-file penalty stops growing, but the failure-to-pay penalty keeps going.

A CP3219N notice for a year you skipped

When you skip a year, the IRS may prepare a return for you, called a substitute for return, using income that others reported. It proposes the tax in Notice CP3219N, a notice of deficiency. You then have 90 days to challenge it in the U.S. Tax Court, and you can ask for trial in Richmond. Or you can file your own return for that year by the date on the notice. Filing does not give you more time to petition.

A revenue officer asking for the missing years

A revenue officer may ask for every return you missed, though IRS policy usually limits enforcement to six years. If you don't produce the returns, or the records needed to prepare them, the officer can issue a summons. For a Richmond-area resident, the government can then ask the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to enforce it. Our page on IRS summons enforcement explains what that court decides.

Refunds for missed years, and Fort Lee soldiers

While a return is past due, the IRS can hold your current refund. To get refunds for the missing years, you must file each return within three years of its due date, including any extension.

Combat-zone service adds time. For a soldier at Fort Lee in Prince George County, for example, time in a combat zone and the 180 days after it don't count toward those three years.

Federal and Virginia years filed together

The IRS enforces the duty to file under laws such as Internal Revenue Code Section 6012, which says who must file and under what conditions. Missing years can quickly grow into back taxes. Richmond taxpayers also answer to the Virginia Department of Taxation. So we find every missing year, federal and state, and plan the filings together.

We review the deductions you can claim, gather the records the IRS expects, and prepare accurate returns. The IRS uses those returns to work out what you owe and whether you qualify for relief.

Payment plans and collection after filing

The IRS generally won't approve a payment plan or consider an offer until all required returns are filed. See our Richmond pages on installment agreements and offers in compromise. If a levy or wage garnishment is already in place, we handle the late returns as part of our response to it.

Common matters we handle

  • Catching up on missed quarterly estimated tax for Richmond freelancers and independent contractors
  • Answering IRS substitute returns for unfiled years, from the 30-day letter to a Tax Court case heard in Richmond
  • Responding to revenue officer requests and summonses for missing returns, including enforcement cases in the Eastern District of Virginia
  • Claiming refunds for unfiled years, including combat-zone extensions for Fort Lee soldiers
  • Preparing and filing several missing years of federal returns for Richmond-area individuals and small businesses, rebuilt from IRS transcripts when records are lost
  • Bringing overdue Virginia income tax returns current with the Virginia Department of Taxation
  • Amending returns filed with errors or unsupported deductions
  • Coordinating late returns with an IRS levy, garnishment or other collection already under way

A note on admissions Federal tax matters are handled nationwide, including IRS examinations, appeals, collection, and Tax Court litigation. Virginia state and local tax matters are handled together with Whiteford attorneys admitted in Virginia, or with co-counsel where a matter requires it.

Why taxpayers choose Whiteford

  • A Richmond office familiar with how IRS filing enforcement interacts with the Virginia Department of Taxation
  • Returns prepared to hold up under IRS review, with each figure tied to documents
  • Accurate returns treated as the basis for negotiating with the IRS, not a box to check

Frequently Asked Questions

The IRS mailed a Notice CP3219N for a year I never filed. What are my options within the 90 days?
You can file your own return for that year, or petition the U.S. Tax Court. A CP3219N is a notice of deficiency. If you file, send the return by the date on the notice, and the IRS will generally adjust your account to match. Filing does not extend the time to petition. If you petition, you can request Richmond as your place of trial. If you do neither, the IRS assesses the tax it proposed. An unpaid bill moves into collection, where levies and federal tax liens become possible.
How did the IRS work out the tax on my CP3219N?
From what others told it about your income. The IRS bases the tax on wages and other income that employers, financial institutions and other payers reported. It treats you as single or married filing separately, never as filing jointly. And it usually leaves out deductions and credits you could claim, so the tax it proposes can be more than you owe. Penalties and interest are added too.
A revenue officer wants returns for every year I skipped, some more than a decade old. Will the IRS pursue all of them?
Usually not. The officer asks for every missing return. But a policy statement in the Internal Revenue Manual normally limits filing enforcement to six years. Going back further, or stopping sooner, takes a manager's approval. The manager weighs factors such as your prior history of noncompliance and the tax likely to be collected compared with the effort. Six years is a guideline, not a statute of limitations. Tax for a year with no return can be assessed at any time. You can still file older years voluntarily.
What happens if I don't produce the returns a revenue officer asked for?
The officer can issue a summons. If you don't comply with the summons, the government can ask the federal court for the district where you live to enforce it. For a Richmond resident, that is the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The city and Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties all fall within that court's Richmond Division.
The IRS is holding this year's refund because of older years I never filed. What will release it?
Filing the missing returns, or giving the IRS an acceptable reason for not filing them. The IRS holds income tax refunds while its records show a return past due. The hold ends when the return or the reason arrives. Any tax you owe on the late returns can be taken from the held refund first. Refunds for the missing years are paid only if each return is filed within three years of its due date, including any extension. That limit also covers credits such as the Earned Income Credit.
I served in a combat zone while stationed at Fort Lee. Do I get more time to claim refunds for years I didn't file?
Generally, yes. Time you spent in a combat zone does not count against the three-year limit on claiming a refund. Neither do the 180 days after you left. That applies to a soldier stationed at Fort Lee in Prince George County, as it does to any service member deployed to a combat zone. The same extra time covers credits such as the Earned Income Credit. So a refund for a missed year may still be open after the usual three years.
Some of the returns I did file have mistakes. Can I correct those too?
Yes, with amended returns. Each one must follow the IRS's procedural rules and match your supporting records. We prepare each correction to hold up under IRS review and to fix the original problem without creating new ones.
Contact Michael March