What is the limitation for obtaining previous returns

[cred65]

TP may need some returns from 90's and cannot locate them. Also does not remember who had prepared them. I purchased the tax business in 2007 and they were not in the inventory acquired. Need to file Form 4506T to get copy or transcript.

[Pacun]

TP may need some returns from 90's and cannot locate them. Also does not remember who had prepared them. I purchased the tax business in 2007 and they were not in the inventory acquired. Need to file Form 4506T to get copy or transcript.

I think the IRS will only provide for the last 7 years. No way to get 1990 returns unless he uses a FOIA if he submitted them to the Government on a legal case (immigration keeps records for life and you can request it for a fee with a FOIA request).

[Catherine]

Not necessarily to disagree with Pacun, but I have a client who needs past-due returns done and all we have to work with are account transcripts of wage etc. info as reported to the IRS. The stuff we got from them goes back to 2001, and it's complete -- wages, withheld taxes (except state, doggone it, so we had to guess there are MA will _not_ help), mortgage interest, student loan interest, etc. All we needed to go digging for was real estate tax and the town helped us there.

Admittedly that's different from return transcripts, but they obviously have info going back a good ten years.

Catherine