Filing Returns for Past Unpaid Taxes

[Deesssyy]

I received a $190,000 of a $300,000 settlement from a car accident in 2003. I was told this was not taxable. I've had multiple surgeries and it still effects me today. I took 50k and invested in stock through Scottrade and 3k into a Roth IRA. I was going through a really bad time and let a lot of stuff go. I drained the accounts in 2005 I think. I never filed taxes on any of it. The IRS has never contacted me regarding this. The state of Missouri did file a tax lien on me 8-10 years ago for 11k. I finally filed taxes for 2017 for the first time since all of that. The state took my return, which I expected.*

I am now trying to get things up to date. I met with a CPA. She is filing my returns from 2013-present. Before that, I only worked part time jobs making maybe 10-15k a year. The most I have ever made is $24k and that was 2018. I only had the stock account active 2003-2005. I made decent returns, 10-20%. I have tried to find my 1099s or any paperwork from those years but have not been successful. I contacted the firm and they can not go back that far. My CPA can only get transcripts from the IRS going back 10 years.*

My question is, should I just file for the last 5yrs and leave it at that and hope and pray the IRS never comes after me? At this point, I don't even know how to go about getting the info I would need to file for those years. How can I find that information I need to go back and file?

[Taxing Matters]

My question is, should I just file for the last 5yrs and leave it at that and hope and pray the IRS never comes after me?

In most nonfiler cases the IRS only pursues the last 6 years or so of returns unless it has reason to believe it can collect significant tax by going back further. In your case its doubtful you've had many years that would have resulted in much tax being due. Chances are if they had thought that they'd have come after you already. So file those most recent returns, get your 2018 return in on time, and keep current going forward and you should come out ok.

[Deesssyy]

Is there even a way, if I wanted to, to go back and get those tax records from the investments and file?

[llworking]

Is there even a way, if I wanted to, to go back and get those tax records from the investments and file?

Unless you have kept the quarterly and end year account information that they would have sent to you, and could find it somewhere, no. No outside party is required to keep records that long.

As Taxing Matters said, file for 2013 forward. You should be ok.

[Deesssyy]

Okay...thank you both for your help.