My backup drive failed on a Friday night and I lost 2 years of tax documents

I had this old external hard drive I kept all my financial stuff on, receipts and tax returns from 2021 and 2022. Last Friday I plugged it in to grab a W2 for a refinance application and it just clicked and spun down, dead. Anyone know if those data recovery services are worth the $300 they quoted me or should I just call it a loss and move on?

2 comments

2 Comments

leobrown5d ago

$300 is cheaper than the IRS mailing you for missing docs.

avery_foster315d ago

Ngl @leobrown I gotta push back on that. $300 is not cheaper when you consider you're basically paying for something you can do yourself in 15 minutes with a checklist and a stamp. The IRS sends reminders for weeks before they even threaten penalties, and most of those missing doc notices can be resolved with a quick call or upload to their portal. Plus, hiring someone doesn't guarantee they'll catch every error either - I've seen people pay for tax help and still end up with the same IRS letter later. Honestly, it's more about laziness than money, and $300 is a lot for a single piece of paper.

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