Phone day

[bill_schubert]

I started this morning (and am currently continuing it) with a phone call to the IRS.  The amended return I filed in August of 2020 for the tax year 2019 has still not been processed.  I've been assured repeatedly during four previous calls that the payment due on the original return of about $2500 could be held temporarily as I wait for the amended part to be processed.  This is kind of important as once the amended return goes through I've got a $2200 rebate.  Pretty big swing.  And, of course, I get a notice yesterday after submitting a request for them to permanently hold off on collecting what would essentially be an interest free loan to the government.  Not only did they ignore my request but they notified me that penalties have accrued and now I owe more money.  I've got every phone call and other contact with the IRS logged so I can walk them through the promises that nothing will change so I doubt the penalties will remain.  But I suspect I'll have to pay the original amount while I wait for them to process a return submitted ten months ago.

I've talked to one lady already but she could not do anything (doesn't it seem like the people you can get through to have no power but are really nice and the ones that can actually fix things are far, far away?).  She gave me a 'transfer code' good for the day that apparently means I don't have to go through verification again but still have to be on hold.  I've been on the phone for an hour and 15 minutes.  

Once I get through this I'll go for a walk then call my supplemental insurance company and see if I can track down what appears to be 75 claims they never processed.  Just curious, you know.

Meanwhile, to keep myself entertained I'm organizing two drawers of t-shirts:

My treasures

Some are long sleeve.  They can go into winter storage.  That will help.  I can't decide how to organize the rest.  By how frequently I wear them?  And, of course, many of the ones I most often wear are ready to be tossed.  But I wear them!!

So much more complicated than a two year old tax return.

Comments

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

And, after three hours on the phone, most of it on hold, I'm back where I started. No one knew anything (other than the collections guy — he knew how much I owed and wanted to encourage me to pay it). Apparently the magic answer is in Austin and there is some kind of incomplete issue with the return. I turned the problem over to my CPA who I paid a bunch of money to do the amendment in the first place.

Time to walk Zoe and prep for the insurance company.

[maju01.livejournal.com]

Seems like they should be paying you to do all their admin for them.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

Gah! When my friend and business partner Tasha lived in the UK, her accountant missed some payment deadlines and she ended up owing about $US25,000 in penalties, which of course their terms exempted them from responsibility for. An expensive lesson. She made arrangements to pay it back in installments, and started doing that, then my marriage unexpectedly broke down and she agreed to move to NZ to be my roommate so I could keep my house. When she got to NZ, she wrote to the Inland Revenue in the UK and asked them for the total of what she owed them. No response. So in desperation she calculated how much it must be including interest and sent them the money with a letter saying this was her best guess and could they let her know if she was right and basically what the situation was. Still no response! Ever. We've been back to the UK since then and she wasn't arrested when she got off the plane, so all we can assume is that it's OK. But still, somewhat terrifying. In your situation I'd pay the money now and then get it back later just for peace of mind, but then I'm irrationally terrified of the Inland Revenue Department (as it is here).

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

Fortunately my problems are not so large. And I did pay it off, a loan to the government. I never knew anything about CPAs until I started my business but as far as I could ever tell their job was to tell you how screwed you were. No advice about how you might do this or that to keep from being screwed next year, just how bad it was right now. They are experts in how to structure the debt you owe the government not how to put yourself in a position so you don't owe them as much.
No one does that. So weird. I've lost a lot of money that I should not have lost. Taxes I should not have had to pay had I done things differently. And the government is so ungrateful.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

I have read a couple of IRS related posts this morning. I hope it is resolved soon, and in your favor.

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I did get a note from my CPA saying he'd run it down.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Grrr, that sounds very aggravating! I hope you get your money back soon.