You may not have filed your federal income tax return for this year or previous years. Regardless of your reason for not filing a required return, file your tax return as soon as possible. If you are not sure you are required to file a return, visit Do I Need to File a Tax Return. If you are required to file a return, but you cannot pay all of the tax due on your return, the IRS may be able to help you establish a payment agreement. If your return was not filed by the due date (including extensions of time to file), you may be subject to the failure to file penalty. If you did not pay your tax in full by the original due date of the return (regardless of extensions of time to file), you may also be subject to the failure to pay penalty. Additionally, interest is charged on taxes not paid by the due date, even if you have an extension of time to file. Remember, Interest is also charged on penalties. Also remember, there is no penalty for failure to file if you are due a refund. But, if you wait to file a return or otherwise claim a refund, you risk losing a refund altogether. An original return claiming a refund must be filed within 3 years of its due date for a refund to be allowed in most instances. After the expiration of the three-year window, the refund statute prevents the issuance of a refund check. However, the statute of limitations for the IRS to assess and collect any outstanding balances does not start until a return has been filed. In other words, there is no statute of limitations for assessing and collecting the tax if no return has been filed.
