I just learned that my elderly father (going on 97) has not filed returns for 2015, 2016 and 2017.
He has a monthly pension of approximately $5,000 and several hundred monthly in Social Security. Together, those two constitute the full extent of his income. His only material asset is approximately $50,000 in a savings account.
I could arrange to have an accountant do my father’s returns but my concern is that his obligation, including penalties and interest, may come close to wiping out his savings. In 2014, the last year for which he filed returns, he paid approximately $6,300 in federal income taxes and owed nothing to the state (IL).
As yet, the IRS has apparently not contacted him regarding his nonfiling for the years 2015 and 2016.
My sister and I are trying to figure out what the best course of action for my father would be, under the circumstances. For his age, he is in reasonably good health, though actuarially of course, his remaining years are very limited in number. We seek to tap into the collective wisdom here for insight.