• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

  • About
  • Liz’s Books
  • Speaking
  • Disclosure
  • Contact

Q&A: Grandma needs tax help

March 27, 2023 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My grandma is 78, divorced, and has not filed taxes in the last decade. I was wondering what she should do because she is head of the household and taking care of three adopted kids and needs help.

Answer: Please help connect your grandmother with AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, which provides free virtual and in-person tax help. You may be able to help her make an appointment and gather the documents she’ll need to file those missing tax returns.

Your obviously busy grandma may have procrastinated on filing her taxes because she worried about a tax bill.

But depending on her income and circumstances, she may have been eligible for refundable credits or other tax breaks that could have put money back in her pocket. (The tax law provides a three-year window to claim a refund, so she would already have lost out on refunds from the earlier years.)

If she does owe taxes and penalties, the IRS has payment plans that could help. A Tax-Aide volunteer will explain her options for paying any overdue bills.

Related Posts

  • Q&A: Finding free tax help

    Dear Liz: You recently mentioned the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Program as a resource for getting help with tax returns. I…

  • If you need to find tax help, try DIY first

    Getting help from the IRS this tax season is going to be a challenge. The…

  • Q&A: Retirement planning needs expert help

    Dear Liz: I am about to retire and have had to make some very important…

  • Charitable giving can help keep tax deductions steady

    Dear Liz: Regarding the reader who was worried about not having sufficient tax deductions: I…

Filed Under: Q&A, Taxes

Primary Sidebar

Search

Copyright © 2025 · Ask Liz Weston 2.0 On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in