Salt Lake City driver estimates $40,000 tax liability

A Salt Lake City truck driver named Amber, who has 22 years of experience on the road, has not filed federal tax returns since 2014. She transitioned from a company driver to a lease-operator role two years ago, estimating she owes about $20,000 in taxes for each of those self-employed years. This $40,000 figure is an estimate of her liability from her recent lease-operator role, not her total tax debt for the entire decade of unfiled returns. An apartment fire depleted her savings and retirement funds. When she sought help, a tax preparer quoted her $600 per unfiled year, totaling $7,200, to organize her paperwork. This fee prevented her from moving forward, and she has been studying artificial intelligence in hopes of leaving long-haul trucking. Financial experts John Delony and Rachel Cruze discussed Amber's tax liabilities. They noted that her actual tax debt may be lower than estimated because she was a W-2 employee for most years. They recommended requesting wage and income transcripts directly from the IRS and negotiating an installment agreement or offer in compromise.