Back Taxes, File Previous Tax Returns

Back Taxes
Prior 2022

You can only prepare and e-File IRS and state income taxes for a given year until the October deadline of the following year. For all previous years or back taxes, find the tax forms on your eFile account and below as well. You can complete and sign the forms before you download and mail them to the IRS mailing address or state tax agency - state mailing addresses are listed on individual state pages. Be sure to use the previous year's mailing address and not the current mailing address so your return goes to the right place. See how to file a 2020 and 2021 Return to claim a missing stimulus payment, plus details on the Recovery Rebate Credit.

Search for previous tax year forms and publications.

If you must file an individual income tax return for a past year, the forms are listed below by tax year. Click on the forms and complete them via the PDF editor before you sign, print, and mail in the return(s). Note: The IRS is experiencing a paper return processing backlog from 2019, 2020, and 2021. As such, this will affect the processing time of your return.

You can prepare and e-file your current Tax Year Return on eFile.com regardless of when you mail your back tax return. Remember, prior-year tax returns cannot be electronically filed anywhere. In order to claim the first two of the stimulus payment checks, you will have to file your 2020 Tax Return and claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit for missed stimulus payments. If you missed filing your 2020 Return to claim a missing stimulus payment - only for stimulus 1 and 2 - you will have to file back taxes which you cannot e-file. This also applies to the third stimulus check, but you will need to file a 2021 Return instead of one from 2020.

You can e-file your current Tax Return on time here on eFile.com until Tax Day. If you owe taxes, you might be subject to late filing and late payment fees if you wait until after the deadline to e-file your return. Additionally, consider filing a tax extension and e-file your return by the October deadline. Check the PENALTYucator for detailed tax penalty fees. 

Filing a Late Tax Return

The timely tax filing and e-file deadlines for all previous tax years - 2021, 2020, and beyond - have passed. At this point, you can only prepare and mail in the paper tax forms to the IRS and/or state tax agencies. After three years, you can no longer claim a refund if you were owed a tax refund from a return dated four or more years ago. For example, the latest you could file for a 2019 refund was July 15, 2023. Links to tax federal and state tax forms by tax year can be found below. See how to file back state taxes.

Important eFile.com Tax Tip: In case you have not filed a previous year's tax return, do this as soon as possible and download the forms below. Why? The late filing penalty (4.5%/month of the tax amount owed, plus interest) is larger than the late payment penalty (0.5%/month, plus interest). Again, file your return and pay as little or as much as you can afford, or even nothing. Doing so will result in the higher filing penalties stopping once you have filed. If you are owed a tax refund, there are no penalties, but your refund is surrendered if you do not claim it within three years.

We provide all the forms, tax calculators, and tools for the previous year's tax returns below. You can also contact one of our Taxperts® to assist you with your previous year's tax returns or amendments.

Additional Information: A tax year is from January 1 - December 31 for any given year. A tax season (prepare and e-file returns for the previous calendar or tax year) is from January 1 until October 15 of any current year. During any current tax season or calendar year, a timely tax return would be prepared and e-filed for the previous calendar year. To put it simply: from January 1, 2023 - April 18, 2023, you prepare and e-file taxes for the tax year of 2022. There are tax extensions if the taxpayer is unable to file by the date, which can extend the filing deadline to typically October 15, but not the payment deadline. If you do not owe taxes, you can prepare and e-file until the October date without filing an extension.

One more Awareness Tip: If you expect a tax refund for a previous year's tax return, you don't have to worry about penalties. The only penalty you may face is self-imposed because you are letting the U.S. Government hang on to money that is rightfully yours. Be aware that you can only claim your tax refund for a previous tax year within three years of the original tax return's due date or deadline. For example, you have until April 15, 2024, to claim a 2020 Tax Refund. For all other back taxes or previous tax years, it's too late. See information about unclaimed refunds for details. Unfortunately, if you owe taxes, there is no time limit; this is only if you expect a tax refund.

Back Taxes Resources

The table below provides forms and tools by tax year. For 2015 and later taxes, we have made tax calculators and tools available for each year to assist you in planning.

eFile.com offers tax preparation and e-filing for the current tax year. Prepare and e-file your federal and state return by Tax Day so you do not have to go through the hard work of calculating taxes and sending your information through the mail. e-Filing your returns is the safest and quickest way to get your taxes done.

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