What are Back Taxes?

Back taxes refers to unpaid taxes that a person or company owes to a tax authority such as the IRS. About 20% of US tax filers either owe back taxes or are late in filing a tax return according to IRS statistics.

Back taxes have a negative effect on your credit rating and can persist on your credit record for years. If you cannot afford to pay the full amount of your back taxes, you should still contact the IRS either directly or through the services of an Enrolled agent to explore any settlement options that you might qualify for.

In the United States, taxes are generally owed at the federal, state, county, and municipal levels. Types of taxes broadly fall into the categories of income, property, excise, sales, estate, and gift taxes.

The added complexity of multiple tax authorities means that settling back taxes in many cases means settling with multiple tax agencies across multiple tax jurisdictions.