5 years behind on taxes, $50K in CC debt, got a CP59 notice and I haven’t slept and have been stress puking all night because it was a slap in the face that I’ve been a huge dumb ass and reality is violently crashing in around me, need to know if I’m as screwed as I think I am.

IANAL but I did work for a tax firm briefly. Idk what state you’re in but definitely look into low income tax clinics. Not suggesting that you’re low income, but hiring a tax attorney can cost a pretty penny, with some charging $500 or more for an hour of work for good work. If you only have $6k on hand your options may be limited, and you might have to use that alone to just pay for an attorney. Here in MA I know Harvard has one and there are a few others in the Boston area alone. If they can’t help you they might be able to send you in the right direction. Also, just for a little silver lining, I’ve seen people in much worse situations than you. Believe it or not, IRS is usually very willing to work with people to get their money. A good attorney might be able to bring down the total charges owed and can work out a decent payment plan. But I would suggest reaching out to either a lawyer or tax law organization. You can probably land a few free consults too, at least the lawyer I worked for always offered a free half hour consultation.

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