We haven't filed our federal income tax for 4 years. We don't have the money to pay. What do I do?

In general you cannot stop the interest that accrues on tax liabilities. If you do not have the ability to pay you may be able to provie your financial situation to the IRS. If the IRS agrees you do not have the ability to pay they can place your accoutn in a non-collectible status for a time, meaning that you are not required during that time to make payments, and that the IRS will not take collection actions including wage or bank levies, but the interest and penalties continue to accrue. It is frequently in your best interest to make voluntary payments of as much as possible even while in this non-collecitble status.

The first thing to do though is file. If you have not filed, the IRS may choose to file a Substitute for Return on your behalf. This frequently does not reflect your actual situation for exemptions or deductions. The IRS will not consider any resolution or request on repayment or non-collectible until all recent year returns are filed.

You may wish to hire a company or professional to contact the IRS for you and/or to prepare the missing returns for you. There is a lot of documentaiton frequently requested by the IRS, and a layperson may not easily understand what documentaiton is necessary or what to request of the IRS.

You should immediately get your delinquent returns prepared and filed. It can be a crime to fail to file your tax returns. The IRS has a policy of not pursuing a failure to file case criminally if the taxpayer files the returns before they are contacted by someone from the IRS. Once the returns are filed, you can then work on any outstanding tax liability. You can make an instamment plan or an offer in compromise to deal with the tax debt. It is important given your facts that you seek the assistance of a reputable tax attorney.