HELP! ROTH IRA INVALID FOR NOT FILING TAXES?

[Guest Christie L]

I am self-employed, make about $6000 a year. Not knowing much about taxes, I thought I don't make enough to file for taxes and I have never filed since I came here as a legal resident in 95.

I opened a Roth IRA on 4/15/2000 and contributed $2000 for tax year 99 and $2000 for tax year 2000. A while back, I found out on the Roth IRA web site that Roth contribution has to be "earned income". My questions are as following:

1)Is my Roth IRA account not valid due to the fact that I did not file for taxes in tax year 99, 2000 and all 3 years after I was in the u.s.?

2)How can I fix this? Which form to use when I back file? Do I need pay taxes on my scholarship when I was in college?I like to solve it before IRS tells me that my roth accout is illegitimate late on.

3)Do I make enough to put $2000 into my Roth?

Thanks for any helpful input.

[JAMES PATRICK]

If you are and have been self employed and earned over $400 then you were required to file income tax returns AND PAY SELF EMPLOYMENT TAXES.

Gather up your records since 1995 and go see a QUALIFIED tax preparer to file the LATE returns. The clock is running and so is the meter on your delinquent tax payments. Th e Roth is the least of your problems right now and it may be what will alert the IRS to you.