Originally Posted By RAM1984 While my newborn grandbaby was sick in the hospital we got a bill from the IRS for over $3K for our 2004 taxes. I knew it was bunk so I just set it aside. There was a date of Nov.1 to respond before new fees and penalties were assessed. Then we went to Disneyland and I set the paper work aside planning to straighten things out when we got home. My husband had tried to reach them by phone but gave up after being on hold for over an hour. All that had happened was that we had rolled over our IRA to an annuity. The IRS was billing us as though we had cashed out. They had also taken away our $200 credit for our contribution.(They did the same thing 9 years ago when we rolled over the 401K) So, it’s October 25 and I figure I better get it all together and sent in. Of course nothing was going right. The numbers were not adding up at all. Hubby and I spent hours hunting down records and were going to take them to the bank to see if we could get just one printout with all the info on it. Then, hubby got up at 7AM was on hold for over 30 minutes but when he told them the circumstances and gave them the account numbers they said, “Okay, it is all taken care of.†I know they had all the information in front of them as both the banks and we had sent it in. I think what irks me most was the timing and that we did not get a letter saying they thought there might be a mistake. We got a bill and a payment plan complete with interest and penalties. We had been proclaimed guilty and had to prove our innocense. Enough of my rant. Has anyone else out there had "fun" with the IRS?
Originally Posted By RAM1984 ^^I have to wonder how many people just pay those bills without checking them out?
Originally Posted By JazzCat Good grief! We did take money out of our 401K this year and I hate to see what our penalties are going to be!
Originally Posted By avromark Try this Rick Mercer parody an The Canada Revenue Service commercial. It's entitled "Knee In My Package" It's probably how you feel. <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=Cu83veG7mk8" target="_blank">http://youtube.com/watch?v=Cu8 3veG7mk8</a>
Originally Posted By RoadTrip The exact same thing happened to us about 10 years ago. The IRS said we had cashed out a life insurance policy where the premiums had been made pre-tax. We HAD cashed out a life insurance policy, but all premiums had been paid after-tax so there was no tax liability. I searched through YEARS of records to find what I needed. I xeroxed them and sent them to the IRS with a letter explaining the situation. They accepted my explanation and that was the end of it. BUT... they had billed me for 1,000 in back taxes and almost 2,000 in penalties. As RAM1984 said, many people would have been intimidated and just paid. Other people would have known it was wrong, but been unable to produce the records proving their point. I keep wondering whether the IRS is incompetent, corrupt, or both. I think the correct answer is both.
Originally Posted By alexbook My latest IRS encounter took 57 minutes (according to the clock on my phone). I owe a lot (and yes, I really do owe them the money), and I was trying to set up a payment plan. The first half of the call was spent just trying to get to the person I needed to talk to. >>I keep wondering whether the IRS is incompetent, corrupt, or both. I think the correct answer is both.<< "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence."
Originally Posted By RAM1984 ^^Well, a few years ago I read an article written by a guy who got a bill from the IRS for $6 for fraud. He spent hours on the phone being switched from one department to another just to find out what "fraud" he was guilty of. No one would tell him and he finally gave up and paid. His conclusion: if the IRS does this to a million customers, well, you do the math. I had that happen to me and later I got a check for my $6 plus intersest. (I thought of calling the National Enquirer.) There was never an explanation or apology, just a bill and then a refund. So I am not condemming, just commenting. I mean, do you know anyone who is fond of the IRS?
Originally Posted By a goofy guy Has anyone thought of sending the Infernal Revenue Service a bill for all the wasted paper they use sending bogus bills to "us"? Bill them and see how they like it! Maybe this belongs in World Events...sorry!
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Good grief! We did take money out of our 401K this year and I hate to see what our penalties are going to be!<< Unless you were 59.5 or older at disbursement time you will owe a 10% penalty, plus regular income tax.
Originally Posted By RAM1984 >>Has anyone thought of sending the Infernal Revenue Service a bill<< I actually concidered sending them a bill for our time with a penalty for their having made a mistake. It only seems fair. But then I became afraid that they would decide to audit us for the past 30 years and dropped it. The penalty on early withdrawal depends on the reason. Some things like certain medical expenses can be exempt.
