Can N.Y. State garnish soc.sec.retirement checking
After 28 years I got a letter from N.Y. saying I owe back income tax from
1983??

I don't remember what the statute of limitation was on such a thing... but I'd like to know under what law they can can make that claim after that many years out of the blue.

After all WHO actually keeps records that far back.. WHO can even be expected to remember the details that long ago. What about employers who have merged 4 ort 5 times or went out of business years ago. Who can remember where they banked much less account information... total ammounts or anything like that to even try to reconstruct such records when such a claim is made. That is why there are statutes of limitations on most things.

You are expected to keep your copies 3 years... for the more anal retentive types up to 11 years... I don't know ANYONE who hasn't shredded those type of records that far back. I don't and I'm a packrat about such things.

Federal law says the IRS has a 10-year statute of limitations for collecting back taxes - the 3 year limt is how far back they can go for auditing purposes. However, the states can (and do) have different limits. In NY there is generally a 3-year statute of limitations after the return is filed, But that limit DOES NOT APPLY if you failed to file at all, or if you filed a false or fraudulent return for the purpose of evading taxes. See: http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/publications/general/pub131_407.pdf

Smoothy: I understand your desire to not be a pat rack, but I trust you are aware that some tax records you must basically keep forever - such as cost basis information on your property (real estate and investments).

Federal law says the IRS has a 10-year statute of limitations for collecting back taxes - the 3 year limt is how far back they can go for auditing purposes. However, the states can (and do) have different limits. In NY there is generally a 3-year statute of limitations after the return is filed, But that limit DOES NOT APPLY if you failed to file at all, or if you filed a false or fraudulent return for the purpose of evading taxes. See: http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/publications/general/pub131_407.pdf

Smoothy: I understand your desire to not be a pat rack, but I trust you are aware that some tax records you must basically keep forever - such as cost basis information on your property (real estate and investments).
Oh... I agree on those two points... I do keep ALL realestate documents, my other investments aren't as old as that. Not because they were shreded, but that I put everything into getting the house so literally had no investments prior to that (to avoid getting shafted with a PMI).

And about the failed to file issue... legally. Just because some clerk misfiled a few ancient records, and someone decides out of the blue... they must not have filed... how can someone legally be compelled to prove something where records that were not legally required to be kept from that far back. I seriously believe there are government employees whoes sole job is just to harrass people over files THEY misplaced or lost.

Yeah... I once had to xerox returns to prove I actually filed 7 years earlier once... odd since I got a sizeable return from both the state AND Feds that year they clearly forgot about.

One point I forgot to mention... I assume there was no judgment dating back to that time frame that they were unable to collect on.