Follow these easy steps to take care of your back taxes.

1. Get together all of your tax documents for all of the years that you didn't file.

Go back to the very first year that you didn't file. You need all of your documents. You need your W-2s along with any other tax documents. Are you missing any tax documents? You can contact the IRS for copies. You can also talk to your employer or previous employers for copies of tax and income documents.

2. Prepare your tax returns yourself, or hire somebody to file your tax returns.

The next step to taking care of your back taxes is by filing your tax returns. Are you comfortable filing yourself? If so, then you should use some software to make sure that you don't make any mistakes. While tax software is produced every year and is specific to the tax code for that year, it's easy to find software for previous years. Plan on about 2 to 3 hours for each tax return.

Or you can hire some professional to file your taxes. Even if you do your own taxes every year, a professional might be a good idea when you are dealing with back taxes. The pros know how to deal with the IRS, and know how to navigate the difficulties of back taxes. So call around and ask your friends if they know any tax professionals who have experience with back taxes.

3. Prepare your tax returns, or have your professional file your tax returns.

When you file your tax return, you can determine if you will be getting a refund or if you actually need to pay the IRS back taxes.

4. Now that you have actually done your tax return, you need to protect your refunds.

Chances are that you actually qualify for a tax refund. But you have to know that there are time limits on getting your tax refunds, time limits for collecting any debt owed, and time limits for audits. So when you put together a plan to pay off your back taxes, you should know how long it will take to get your refund. You also should figure out how much of your income will be applied to other years that you owe taxes on.

5. This step is the one where you actually pay off your tax debts.

You need to come up with a payment plan if you owe back taxes. You should probably meet with an IRS representative to talk about a payment plan. If you can afford it, you will probably just want to write a check to cover everything that you need to pay. Or you can set up a monthly payment plan with the IRS. This will help you protect yourself against an audit or an investigation. It's when you get to this step that having a professional help you out can be really helpful.

There are a few things about the IRS and the tax code that you need to know. You can find all of this information on your website.

--filing a tax return can help out with any IRS assessments. So file your returns and protect yourself.

--Check out the IRS Statute of Limitations. This will help you know what the deadlines are for your refunds, for your payment of your back taxes, and for audits.

--All late tax returns have to be filed on paper. This means that you can't use electronic filing.

--Send your returns by certified mail, and send them separately. Then you can verify that you sent the return and that it was received by the IRS.

--Consider hand delivering your returns to the local IRS office.