[gamblor956]

Not sure this makes sense. If you only made $20,000 each of those 4 years, you would have been below the poverty threshold, and you shouldn't have had income taxes owed (after credits and deductions).

If you're saying that you made $80,000 for each of those 4 years...then you deliberately lived beyond your means and you deserve to have the tax debt hanging over your shoulders.

[nostrademons]

Yeah, something seems dodgy there. $20K income is well below the EITC threshold. I just stuck it into BankRate's tax calculator [1], and it claimed total tax owed was $1616 without any further deductions, so it's quite possible the OP owes nothing. He should consult a qualified tax attorney or accountant; much of that IRS debt may not really exist.

Also, if I understand his post correctly, it seems like he was paid as a 1099 contractor the whole time but received equity and operated like an employee. There's likely something highly illegal about that (on the part of the startup), but it's not worth going after them because I doubt they have any money.

[1] http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/tax-planning/1040-form-t...