<prompt> Human: Ive got a good friend who has some issues with the IRS. 10 years ago, her husband decided the IRS was evil and shouldnt get any money. His business was later shut down and owed approximately 40k in debt to the IRS. They declared bankruptcy and got all the debt wiped out. Following that, they separated but stayed legally married. He went off the grid and hasnt had any income or filed any returns. She went back to school, got her life back on track and is now earning a good income. She works on W2 and there are withholdings for taxes.After that incident 10 years ago, she didnt file any returns and hasnt since then out of fear the IRS would find her over the 40k, compounded each year by the number of unfiled returns.Now, with 10 years of unfiled returns, the IRS has started contacting her regarding her them. They state that she owes over 110k in taxes, fees, penalties and interest and are going to start garnishment.After the IRS contacted her, she paid one of those tax relief companies to look at her situation. From what they have gathered, The IRS have force-filed returns for her through 2012, showing a total balance owed of over 110k. She is not in a position to pay that and the tax relief company wants 11,000 up front to file her prior returns and negotiate for her. I advised her to not pay them anything else until we consult with a real tax attorney And get some advice from all of you! Im worried that this company is just after their fees and will end up digging her in a bigger hole.She doesnt have any significant assets aside from a 401k, no mortgage lives with family, earns above the state median income CA. Ive reached out to both a tax and bankruptcy attorney waiting on consults with both, got copies of her tax transcripts for the years in question from the IRS, and after a quick primer on bankruptcy, I have some questions on what she should be doing next.1Is bankruptcy an option for her? From what Ive read, all of her debt is non-consumer debt income taxes which according to the means test, indicates chapter 7 is an option however as her returns were filed by the IRS, Im unsure if they are available for discharge.2The transcripts I have show the amount withheld and a line item 300 Additional tax assessed by examination. I dont have a copy of this examination, and Im assuming that this would be what would be replaced if she were to file a 1040Xamended return. Am I correct?3Am I correct in recommending not proceeding with paying the tax relief company any more money and working on resolving this either with a real tax attorney or directly with the IRS?4The force filed returns show here as married, filing separately. Her husband has NOT filed a return and has had 0 taxable income. Would she be able to file jointly on her 1040x to increase her deduction? They are legally married, however not living together.Any insights on what else I should do to prepare before consulting a tax attorney or other items we should look at to get this issue resolved? Thank you Reddit!  <response>: So this person intentionally didnt pay taxes two different times, most recently for a decade? As someone else said, get an attorney and buckle up. 