I apologize for the chronology that follows, rather than something more cinematic, but (spoiler) having just sent off an amended return after a rabbit-chasing series of phone conversations with IRS Collections, it's probably best.
1. April 2020: TurboTax and I try to file electronically, but fail. So I mail a paper return.
2. November 2023: IRS letter says, we have your money, but not your return. I mail a second paper return. All quiet on the Western Front. I forget about it.
3. May 2024: I check my Social Security credits: Zero income reported for 2020. I call tax payer assistance. They can't figure it out; tell me to sit tight and someone will tell me whether I owe or am owed.
4. Two days later, I receive letter telling me to "call for amount owed." There is a light-face line with the figure $2,540, but no demand for that amount. I ignore it, assuming (yes, sorry) that IRS is still figuring things out.
5. July 8, 2024: Cranky letter from IRS threatening seizure, etc. Still "call for amount owed." $2,540 still the fine-print figure. Naive, I'm sure this can be resolved with a phone call. I download my transcript to be prepared. Transcript top-line tax amount agrees with TurboTax number, so clearly someone got our return.
6. July 8-14: Calls, holds, disconnects, transfers that produce some bizarre conversations ("They're taking back that stimulus payment you shouldn't have got!" Oh, so you have my AGI in front of you? "Well, no. I'm going to have to transfer you."), but one person is helpful: Someone chez IRS inputted topline numbers but never bothered with forms and schedules that showed off-setting credits. Curiously, still, no one can tell me what I actually owe. Or don't.
7. Grand finale, I'm transferred to "Tier 2" person in Collections, who starts off exasperated: "Just send it in again! You haven't even been sent for (something vile; I assume 'serious' collections.) Me: Send what? "An amended return, 1040X!" Me: OK, but Agent X told me it had been too long? Him: "Send it in again!" I get my revenge by asking him for an address: Somewhere in Ogden, UT.
8. In the meantime, I have figured out I missed my first estimated tax payment (self-employed) of $513. Arithmetic sez I owe $90. I write a check and send it in with 1040X. Certified, this time. (Because earlier helpful agent said I couldn't dispute that IRS had received a return without proof.)
My question is, have I done enough? I live in rural KS and honestly, I can't face driving 1.5 hours to an IRS location to listen to the same BS I heard on the hold line.
I think I'm OK, but let me know if I should take steps instead of waiting.
1. April 2020: TurboTax and I try to file electronically, but fail. So I mail a paper return.
2. November 2023: IRS letter says, we have your money, but not your return. I mail a second paper return. All quiet on the Western Front. I forget about it.
3. May 2024: I check my Social Security credits: Zero income reported for 2020. I call tax payer assistance. They can't figure it out; tell me to sit tight and someone will tell me whether I owe or am owed.
4. Two days later, I receive letter telling me to "call for amount owed." There is a light-face line with the figure $2,540, but no demand for that amount. I ignore it, assuming (yes, sorry) that IRS is still figuring things out.
5. July 8, 2024: Cranky letter from IRS threatening seizure, etc. Still "call for amount owed." $2,540 still the fine-print figure. Naive, I'm sure this can be resolved with a phone call. I download my transcript to be prepared. Transcript top-line tax amount agrees with TurboTax number, so clearly someone got our return.
6. July 8-14: Calls, holds, disconnects, transfers that produce some bizarre conversations ("They're taking back that stimulus payment you shouldn't have got!" Oh, so you have my AGI in front of you? "Well, no. I'm going to have to transfer you."), but one person is helpful: Someone chez IRS inputted topline numbers but never bothered with forms and schedules that showed off-setting credits. Curiously, still, no one can tell me what I actually owe. Or don't.
7. Grand finale, I'm transferred to "Tier 2" person in Collections, who starts off exasperated: "Just send it in again! You haven't even been sent for (something vile; I assume 'serious' collections.) Me: Send what? "An amended return, 1040X!" Me: OK, but Agent X told me it had been too long? Him: "Send it in again!" I get my revenge by asking him for an address: Somewhere in Ogden, UT.
8. In the meantime, I have figured out I missed my first estimated tax payment (self-employed) of $513. Arithmetic sez I owe $90. I write a check and send it in with 1040X. Certified, this time. (Because earlier helpful agent said I couldn't dispute that IRS had received a return without proof.)
My question is, have I done enough? I live in rural KS and honestly, I can't face driving 1.5 hours to an IRS location to listen to the same BS I heard on the hold line.
I think I'm OK, but let me know if I should take steps instead of waiting.
Statistics: Posted by MGA1600 — Tue Jul 16, 2024 10:29 pm — Replies 1 — Views 185