{"id":39035,"date":"2018-06-20T15:50:15","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T20:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?p=39035"},"modified":"2020-06-05T15:01:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T20:01:00","slug":"can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The IRS wants you to file a return voluntarily and on time every year. But, if you don\u2019t file a return on time, the IRS can eventually file a return for you \u2013 it\u2019s called a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-substitute-return-sfr\/\">substitute for return<\/a>, or SFR.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS uses the information it has (usually information statements about your income, like Forms W-2 and 1099) to file for you. But the IRS doesn\u2019t give you any credits or deductions that you might use if you prepared and filed your own return.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The consequence<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ll owe the maximum possible taxes and penalties.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The solution<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lower your taxes and penalties by filing a correct return, with all your deductions and credits, to replace the return filed by the IRS.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS can take 2-3 years to file a tax return for you, so you have time to act if you haven\u2019t filed a return. Here\u2019s what will happen:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The IRS will send a series of notices (starting about seven to eight months after the return was due) asking you to file.<\/li>\n<li>If you don\u2019t file, the IRS will then put you into a \u201ctax delinquency investigation.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>If you still don\u2019t file or explain why you don\u2019t need to file during the investigation, the IRS can start filing a return for you (the SFR) \u2013 and start collecting on your tax bill.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The IRS may automate this process or send a local IRS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-revenue-officer\/\">revenue officer<\/a> to get more information from you to file an SFR. Either way, the best move is to immediately file a tax return.<\/p>\n<p>If the IRS has already filed an SFR for you, you can reduce your tax bill by filing an accurate return to replace the SFR.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>One word of caution<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>After the IRS files an SFR, the IRS will scrutinize any return you file to replace the SFR.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s best to order your Forms W-2 and 1099 from the IRS (these are called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-wage-income-transcript\/\">wage and income transcripts<\/a>) and use them to make sure you properly report everything on your return.<\/p>\n<p>You should also make sure you\u2019re prepared to back up any items on your return, since the IRS is more likely to audit your new return.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/unfiled-tax-return\/\">Learn about unfiled tax returns<\/a> \u2013 or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-offices\/extended-tax-services\/tax-audit\/audit-support.html\">get a tax pro to help<\/a>. Your tax pro can deal with the IRS for you and prepare and file your new return to minimize taxes and penalties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The IRS wants you to file a return voluntarily and on time every year. But, if you don\u2019t file a return on time, the IRS can eventually file a return for you \u2013 it\u2019s called a substitute for return, or SFR. The IRS uses the information it has (usually information statements about your income, like [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":605,"featured_media":33134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irs","category-audits-and-tax-notices"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant. | H&amp;R Block<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you don\u2019t file a return on time, the IRS can eventually file a return for you \u2013 it\u2019s called a substitute for return. Get the facts from H&amp;R Block.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you don\u2019t file a return on time, the IRS can eventually file a return for you \u2013 it\u2019s called a substitute for return. Get the facts from H&amp;R Block.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"H&amp;R Block\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-20T20:50:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-05T20:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/shutterstock_696480235-1080x675.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elyce Luegers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elyce Luegers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elyce Luegers\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449\"},\"headline\":\"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant.\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-06-20T20:50:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-05T20:01:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":418,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/shutterstock_696480235.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"IRS\",\"Audits and tax notices\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/\",\"name\":\"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant. | H&R Block\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/shutterstock_696480235.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-06-20T20:50:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-05T20:01:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449\"},\"description\":\"If you don\u2019t file a return on time, the IRS can eventually file a return for you \u2013 it\u2019s called a substitute for return. Get the facts from H&R Block.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/shutterstock_696480235.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/shutterstock_696480235.jpg\",\"width\":7360,\"height\":4912,\"caption\":\"e file tax return\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"H&amp;R Block\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449\",\"name\":\"Elyce Luegers\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elyce Luegers\"}}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant. | H&R Block","description":"If you don\u2019t file a return on time, the IRS can eventually file a return for you \u2013 it\u2019s called a substitute for return. Get the facts from H&R Block.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant.","og_description":"If you don\u2019t file a return on time, the IRS can eventually file a return for you \u2013 it\u2019s called a substitute for return. Get the facts from H&R Block.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/","og_site_name":"H&amp;R Block","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock","article_published_time":"2018-06-20T20:50:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-06-05T20:01:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/shutterstock_696480235-1080x675.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elyce Luegers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@hrblock","twitter_site":"@hrblock","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elyce Luegers","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/"},"author":{"name":"Elyce Luegers","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449"},"headline":"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant.","datePublished":"2018-06-20T20:50:15+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-05T20:01:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/"},"wordCount":418,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/shutterstock_696480235.jpg","articleSection":["IRS","Audits and tax notices"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/","name":"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant. | H&R Block","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/shutterstock_696480235.jpg","datePublished":"2018-06-20T20:50:15+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-05T20:01:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449"},"description":"If you don\u2019t file a return on time, the IRS can eventually file a return for you \u2013 it\u2019s called a substitute for return. Get the facts from H&R Block.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/shutterstock_696480235.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/shutterstock_696480235.jpg","width":7360,"height":4912,"caption":"e file tax return"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/can-the-irs-file-a-return-for-me\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can the IRS File a Return for Me? Yes, but It\u2019s Not Pleasant."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/","name":"H&amp;R Block","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449","name":"Elyce Luegers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elyce Luegers"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/605"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}