Fubar on the FBAR.

Hello to anyone that can help me. I have been clueless, stupid, and misinformed on filing US taxes. I was under the impression that you didn't have to file if you didn't earn enough. Why would you file if you are not earning enough in the first place? I don't know where to begin in filing, I don't know how to file them myself, and I don't have loads of money to have someone file them for me.

Also this FBAR form has me confused. Does it have to be filed automatically as well? What are the penalties of not filing on time? What if you haven't filed in over 10 years? Any advice pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated.

You weren't misinformed.  You are only required to file if you earn above a certain threshold.  What makes you think differently?  There can be advantages to filing even if you don't make the threshold in certain instances, but that doesn't make it a requirement.

The FBAR only needs to be completed and mailed (not filed as taxes are) if the taxpayer's foreign accounts total above $10,000 in any one day in the year.  Does that apply to you?

So basically what you are saying is that you don't have to file unless you meet a certain threshold? I was under the impression you had to file no matter what your income was? Once again I'm clueless and need help in getting the right information. As for the FBAR form, does it have to be filled in every year that your account is above $10,000?

I'm behind on that if that's the case. What penalties might I incur because of this? I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place because I don't know how to file taxes and I don't have the money to pay someone to do them for me. So is there any help for people like me?

You should know how to file your own taxes or be ready to pay someone to do it for you.  There are plenty of posts on how to do that.  But yes, it is not a REQUIREMENT to file taxes if your income does not meet the threshold.

Take a look on this forum for other posts like yours.  Here's an example on the FBAR.  And yes, it needs to be filled in for every year your accounts were above $10k.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=81955.0

These are the maximum income amounts for 2013 for not needing to file a return:

http://www.efile.com/tax/do-i-need-to-file-a-tax-return/

These increase slightly each year, but will give you a rough idea of if you needed to file or not.

To add some other other obvious options for the OP:

There is also a range of tax software offerings that walk you through the process of tax filing. This provides a lower level of assistance than a professional, but at a lower cost (or free for those on low to middle income). I would imagine it would also alert you if it determines that someone in your circumstances is not required to file at all.

You can also call the IRS. They won't prepare your return for you, but they can be surprisingly helpful in answering any specific questions you may have.

Hopefully the above options will help - however, if you are still stuck, you may need to hire a professional as geeta says. As a legal matter, not knowing how to file tax returns is not an excuse. There's a reason they say nothing's certain in life except death and taxes! If you don't like it (and most of us don't), complain to Congress - just don't let the door hit you on the way out.