Back in the US and filing again... but...

OK, don't yell at me. I was in the UK for 9 years and only filed the first couple of years I was there. I was a student and then making well below the amount that would require me to pay federal taxes.

Yes, I was lazy and stupid. I know.

Right now I'm just worried about Federal taxes (I'll deal with State later)... I am now working so will obviously be back on their radar - not that I'd try to avoid them! I'm making very little money (part time retail job since October 2009). I have my W2.

What is my best option? Do I just file as normal and, if they have questions about where I've been for the last few years, deal with it then? This is complicated by the fact that any documentation I have regarding employment in the UK is still in the UK. My husband and I had intended to have all that shipped over by now but money problems and a relationship meltdown have made that impossible.

Also, he is in the US on a J1 visa. As we are currently separated, do how do I file (married, single?)? I'm not helping him with his taxes or anything. He can sort himself out. Or is this complicated by the fact that one of us will have to claim the children as dependents.

Oh God. I guess I will need an accountant after all?

If his J-1 is valid & you have not filed a 6013(g) election with a prior US return you file separate.

You may have commited civil or even possibly criminal offences in terms of past failures to file tax returns & FBARS.  IRS and DoJ policy right now on these offences is unclear, but I would suggest advice.

FBARS shouldn't be a problem as there was never that kind of money in them ($10k total in any calendar year, right?). I wish I had had that! The life of a PhD student is not kind!

My understanding from reading other forums is that if you haven't filed, you just need to make up for lost time by retroactively doing so. If we had brought my husband here on a spousal visa, that was the advice I was reading at the time. It may not have been the best advice, but I suspect the IRS is more interested in people who actually would have owed something. The bulk of my returns would just read 'student'. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I'll phone the tax helpline or speak to my mother's accountant. Thanks for the info on the J1.