Why I Hate the IRS!!!

12 years ago

On January 31, 2010, I electronically filed our income tax, as usual. We file married/joint, standard deduction, so it's simple...Right? Wrong!!

On March 1, 2010, we got a letter from IRS telling us we made an error, which they corrected. They increased our refund by $250. I was skeptical, but figured they knew more than I did... Wrong again!

On November 16, 2010, another letter from IRS: "We regret to inform you that during the processing of your 2009 tax return, we made an error....the previous credit you received was incorrect. Please repay this $250 credit as soon as possible. Interest will not be charged." They also requested a corrected form. That same day, I replied by letter explaining that we completed the form correctly, and submitted a copy of our original (correct) form to them, with a check for $250.

The next correspondence from them was December 12, 2010: "Thank you for your correspondence received November 22, 2010. We haven't resolved this matter because we haven't completed all the research necessary for a complete response. We will contact you again within 45 days to let you know what action we are taking. You don't need to do anything further now on this matter."

On February 21, 2011, DH and I each received a letter from IRS: "Based on the information you provided, we changed your 2009 Form 1040...." As a result, you owe $10.00 in failure-to-pay penalty. You must pay the amount due of $10.00 by March 14, 2011 to avoid additional penalty and interest charges." I called the IRS the day we received the letters. We were told they were sent in error and were being removed from the system. Case closed? Wrong!

Next letter from IRS was dated March 7, 2011: "We applied $10.00 of the overpaid tax on your 2010 tax return to the unpaid balance of other federal taxes which our records show you owe." This means they deducted $10.00 from our 2010 tax refund check. I considered appealing (only because I don't like having a "penalty" on my record, but decided it wasn't worth the effort). Case closed? Wrong!

In late June 2011, we received a check for $10.09 from the IRS! The following day, DH and I each received a letter from IRS dated 6/20/11: "We apologize for the inconvenience, but we made an error on your 2009 Form 1040. To correct our mistake, we adjusted your penalty charge. We made an error figuring the allowable rate reduction credit on your 2001 Form 1040, line 47. We apologize for the error and we're correcting the mistake. If the correct credit results in an overpayment on your 2001 tax return, we will send you a check. You do not have to take any further action on this matter. If you receive a check, do not report the overpayment as income on your 2002 federal tax return. As a result, you are due a refund of $10.00."

Read the above paragraph carefully: They made an error on our 2001 form, but we don't have to report the check as income on our 2002 tax return! 2001??? 2002??? This was a form letter, so I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering what the heck is going on at the IRS. I don't even want to think of how much taxpayers' money was spent on this silly fiasco over a $10 penalty that we didn't owe to begin with. I pray this is the end of this calamity. I definitely vote for a flat tax!

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Comments (8)

susanjf_gw
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
don't be too sure, lol..some irs computer has a huge problem...

here in detroit people were getting water shut off bills of over $900..when they were paid and up to date...over a 1000 of these notices were sent out...had to completely re do the computer system...
lynn_d
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Good Heavens. And we pay dearly for those paper pushers to have jobs, benefits and to retire. I'd make copies of everything and send it to my congressman telling him what a a fiasco it has been and asking if this is what we are paying to have go on in DC. It's ridiculous.
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lydia1959
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We just got a letter from the IRS this week saying we owe $322. from 2009. I'm going to the taxman that did our taxes that year and see if we can figure out what happened. Pretty sure it is an IRS mistake or Jackson Hewitt's and not ours.

That sounds like a mess Wanda! You sound really organized though... so that helps! After reading your story I think I need to document this just in case it things continue on like they did for you.
Toni S
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I feel so sorry for you Wanda. 10 people working on the case and no one is talking to each other. Why can't they tag your file and have it put straight right away, I am wondering. Good luck, hope this is the end, but don't hold your breath!
jannie
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Just save all those crazy letters, in case you get called in for an audit. We got a letter last year (summer 2010) about a $600 overpayment and we went in with letters, copies of returns and copies of our W2 forms. We were not at fault and the examiner agreed, told us we owed nothing. But we never got a formal letter saying the case was closed, so I'm gonna hang onto those papers for at least 5 more years. I don't exactly hate the IRS but I think they need better computer programmers. When I worked at Social Security, any "overpayments" that were fifteen dollars or less were automatically waived and wiped off the record. We never bothered beneficiaries with letters about this petty administrative decision.
patti43
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Happened to us, too. We got a letter dated Nov. 20, 2010 which said we made an error on our 2008 tax return and we owed $1,113.00 including $73.00 interest due them if we paid by Dec. 29, 2010. (Remember this.) We checked our return and we did make an error, so I sent them a check, which cleared our bank Dec. 15.

On January 10, 3022 we got another letter saying we owed $95.30 which I assume was interest on $953.00 they say was unpaid. Do not ask me where the $953 figure came from, but they worded it as "total failure-to-pay". We had paid the interest due in plenty of time to meet the deadline.

I called them and talked to man who told me not to pay the $95 until we got another notice and then call back. He didn't think we owed it but "the computers weren't talking to each other", so he couldn't pull the info up. He said it should work itself out. I got his name (and made him spell his last name which was very long) and also his ID number.

Got another letter Feb. 28, 2011 telling us we'd overpaid on our on our 2010 taxes so the deducted $94.33 that we owed from 2008 from our refund.

At this point I figured out two things:

A. I wasn't going to get any answers from them
B. We weren't going to win the battle

I suppose we'll get audited again next year. Sigh! Harry insists on doing them himself. I wish he wouldn't.

So yes, document just about every single word, get names (ID numbers, too, if you can) and keep everything. I keep the letters (with my notes written on them) in our 2008 tax folder.
lydia1959
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I just got back from the Jackson Hewitt tax office and they believe they made the error... so any fees due will be paid by them. I'll know at the end of the week what the problem was. I'm so glad we've been paying someone to do our taxes otherwise we probably would have went ahead and paid what the IRS told us we owed.
monica_pa Grieves
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think your main problem was filing too soon. Your return was filed before the cut off for changes.
Never, never file your return electronically before January 31.

Better yet, file the end of February. Electronically filed returns are processed immediately on receipt, and get processing priority over paper returns.

Why I Hate the IRS!!!

Comments (8)

susanjf_gw

lynn_d

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