Help with Minnesota Income Taxes for former college student. (how much, attorney)

[germaine2626]

Help please. To make a long story short my niece lives in Wisconsin but went to college in Minnesota. She filed her federal taxes while in college with her Wisconsin address and received a federal tax refund each year ranging from $3 to $100. Due to a misunderstanding/miscommunication she thought that did not have to file state taxes as a college student as her income was so low. So she did not file state taxes for 2010 to now.

Now she is graduated and absolutely panicked that she will have huge fines or get hauled off to jail or fail an upcoming federal security clearance or all three. She is especially worried about the security clearance as it will done by the FBI.

She has all of the information from those tax years but is unclear what to do now. She is worried that if she calls the state government it will be worse as she could get into even more trouble. She asked for my advice and I am asking you.

Does anyone know the best way to proceed? Thank you.

[gweilo845]

Talk an accountant or tax attorney. Most reputable ones will give a free consultation to go over your situation.

[Glenfield]

I would agree that she should get an accountant to file her back returns ASAP. There may be a penalty or interest due if she owes the state money but better to file them voluntarily than have them come after her. Jail is out of the question but these sorts of things can interfere with landing a good job, especially in finance, if they're not taken care of.

[Hockeygirl063]

doesn't it depend on how much money you make? If it is less than X amount you don't have to file?

Good luck. I hope you don't have to pay fines. We had some problems in the past with our state tax :-(

[bler144]

Enrolled agent might be cheaper than an accountant, and likely more effective. They'll also likely be more help if it comes to negotiating any penalties.

Interest on a negligible amount owed won't be that big a deal in the scheme of things, but penalties could hurt.

But agree with hockeygirl, the first question is whether she owed enough to even be required to file.

Not that, even if she wasn't required to file, she might still choose to if she was owed a return, though typically as I understand most states only let you file 3 years back if doing so was optional.

Definitely don't panic, but either do the research her/yourself, or get someone like an enrolled agent who works in that state to dig into it for you.

[James1202]

Originally Posted by germaine2626

Help please. To make a long story short my niece lives in Wisconsin but went to college in Minnesota. She filed her federal taxes while in college with her Wisconsin address and received a federal tax refund each year ranging from $3 to $100. Due to a misunderstanding/miscommunication she thought that did not have to file state taxes as a college student as her income was so low. So she did not file state taxes for 2010 to now.

Now she is graduated and absolutely panicked that she will have huge fines or get hauled off to jail or fail an upcoming federal security clearance or all three. She is especially worried about the security clearance as it will done by the FBI.

She has all of the information from those tax years but is unclear what to do now. She is worried that if she calls the state government it will be worse as she could get into even more trouble. She asked for my advice and I am asking you.

Does anyone know the best way to proceed? Thank you.

The other respondents missed the point.

It is not required to file income tax forms if no payment is due.

Federal and State governments are only concerned with tax evasion and have no problem with those who don't request a refund.

Your niece should prepare the missing tax filings, to verify no payment was due, and keep these with her past/future filings for a record.

Yes, I have opted out of filing both MN state and US Federal returns when in college.

When one's gross taxable income is below the standard deduction and the claimed deductions on the W-2 Wage and Tax Statement guarantee a minimal refund. Filing is comical; just to get the miniscule refund check.

My smallest State refund: $0.65; My smallest Federal refund: $11.00 (I preferred to get the most $$ from each paycheck and still not owe anything).