| It can be difficult to deal with your past year taxes -- | | | | you owe. Now that you've decided that your past |
| you might not have the necessary information to file | | | | year taxes are a problem you're ready to solve, you |
| them handy, you might be worried about high fees and | | | | need to get ready to solve it. You will need to get the |
| penalties, and it might just seem like an overwhelming | | | | information you need, and select an adviser to guide |
| amount of work. But dealing with your past year taxes | | | | you through the process. |
| once and for all is almost always a better plan than | | | | It's always better to have too much information rather |
| letting the problem worsen. And thanks to the | | | | than too little. You should try to get copies of your tax |
| increasingly competitive nature of the tax preparation | | | | returns for the years before and after the years when |
| industry, it's never been easier to find qualified | | | | you did not file. You should also get all of the financial |
| professionals who are able to quickly and | | | | information for the years you will file: your pay stubs, |
| cost-effectively resolve your past year taxes. | | | | bank statements, brokerage statements, and receipts |
| If you're on the fence about paying your past year | | | | for major purchases. All of this is useful information |
| taxes, there's some information to keep in mind. First, | | | | that will make it easy to file your past year taxes. |
| the good news: about forty million filings representing | | | | Next, you need to select a tax adviser. While many |
| ninety million people resulted in zero or negative tax | | | | large and small tax preparers can help you when you |
| liability in 2006. So there are pretty good odds that you | | | | file normally, a comparatively unusual circumstance like |
| won't owe much in taxes, or that you'll mostly owe | | | | paying past year taxes will call for something else. A |
| fees and interest (which on small amounts can be | | | | larger company might have late tax experts, but they |
| quite nominal). | | | | won't offer you very attractive rates. An online |
| And now the bad news: the IRS does charge fees, | | | | specialist, by contrast, is likely to know everything you |
| and interest, and both can add up fast. The fees the | | | | will need to quickly pay your past year taxes, but since |
| IRS charges can be significant, but the interest rates | | | | they handle things more efficiently, they can charge |
| are the worst: they may get as much as 1% per | | | | much more competitive rates. |
| month (or twice what you might pay on a mortgage). | | | | Once you have your documents, and with the help of |
| But the rates drop fast once you agree to settle with | | | | a savvy online advisory service, it's easy to file past |
| them. After you schedule repayments, interest on your | | | | year taxes. In no time, you'll be able to pay off your |
| debt can go to as low as .25% per month, or only a | | | | taxes owed, or arrange a schedule for paying them |
| little more than the government pays on treasury | | | | down. Taxes always seem more daunting than they |
| bonds. | | | | have to be, and past year taxes are often even more |
| So there are great reasons to deal with your past | | | | intimidating. But with a little forethought, a little work, and |
| year taxes as soon as possible: you probably owe | | | | some smart advisers, you can resolve your taxes in |
| less than you think, and the faster you act, the less | | | | no time. |