E Filing Prior Year Tax Returns

If you need information from a prior year tax return use get transcript to request a return or account transcript.

E filing prior year tax returns.

Filing prior year tax returns for most individuals filing an annual tax return is a requirement. As of april 2020 the irs has stopped processing tax returns submitted or mailed in on paper tax forms including all prior year tax returns due to the covid 19 crisis. E filing prior year returns. Get our online tax forms and instructions to file your past due return or order them by calling 1 800 tax form 1 800 829 3676 or 1 800 829 4059 for tty tdd.

If you have to file a prior year return forms are listed below by tax year please do so and mail it in the return s but do not expect fast processing of the submitted forms. It takes a few weeks for your returns to be processed. Prior year returns can only be filed electronically by registered tax preparers and only when the modernized e file system is available. Returns submitted during this shut down period will be stored on our secure servers and transmitted to the irs once they re ready to process them.

You can e file prior year returns 2016 tax year and forward year round using taxact professional or consumer business editions. From there you ll enter the income and expense information for the year you are filing. To access prior year updates from the main menu of the prior year program select updates download install updates. The irs posts the status of the modernized e file mef system on the mef status page.

You can prepare and mail 2012 2017 tax returns. File your taxes online using freetaxusa s prior year tax software. Select the year you wish to create and click start a new tax return. Use a prior year version of h r block software.

Once you finish preparing your prior year returns mail them to the irs. The irs shuts down its mef system for maintenance each year from late november to the end of january specific dates vary each year. If you want to file those prior year returns you can t do it using h r block online. Then click on the prior years tab in the middle of the my account page.

More help with filing previous years taxes. As subsequent tax years are added to the system mef will accept the current tax year and two prior tax years. Prior year returns mef allows filing of prior year 1040 returns. As a new tax form type is added to the mef platform tax returns will be accepted for the current tax year only.

Simply log into your account or create a new account to begin. The irs allows electronic filing of tax returns for the current tax year and the two previous tax years. Talk to a tax professional at one of our office locations nationwide. In january 2015 1040 mef accepted tax years 2014 2013 and 2012.