If you need to file back income tax returns but you have lost your tax records, a good tax firm should easily be able to assist you in this process. As a  former IRS Agent, while with the IRS, we are flooded with this request from scared taxpayers just wanting  to do the right thing, but not sure on just how to do it.

Here is how the process works.

1. The taxpayer should to the best of their ability reconstruct what they think their tax earnings were for each year. They can do this simply by using a monthly average for each of the years.

As an example, how much was one month of your rent or mortgage, your car expenses, your food, your insurance etc. Arrive at a monthly figure and multiple it by 12. As a general rule your rent or mortgage is usually about 28% monthly expenses.

2. If you have bank statements, what were your total deposits for the year?

3. Call the IRS and ask them for an income report record of all third parties that have reported to the IRS. The IRS keeps on their computer system a list of all third party sources that have reported 1099’s or W-2’s. The IRS will send this to you within a couple weeks of your request.

4. Ask yourself, does this return make sense? The IRS knows how much it costs to live in each area of the country. The tax return must reflect your living style and conditions over the period of time in which you are filing.

It is always best to let a professional tax firm handle this situation. The professional firms know the standards and the methods used by the IRS and if you owe tax, they can probably work out a tax settlement as well.