Ok, I’m confused ….. windfall?

Lynn lost her job when Covid hit and she hasn’t received a paycheck in over three years now. I file her income taxes every year due to the fact she has a small IRA, but it’s gone straight into the toilet the past couple years (750K to 350K … thank you Joe) and we’ve never touched it. Last year, I filed for her, but just as in previous years, she owes no taxes (no income) and, of course, has no return due.

She turned 65 in February and we just decided to throw in the towel (she was thinking of MAYBE going back to work) and she decided to officially retire and go on Social Security. Her first check is expected on Wednesday (direct deposit).

Well, I have no clue if it’s even related or not, but we received a gubment check in the mail yesterday for $12,082.41! We have absolutely no clue what it’s for.

There’s a note at the bottom of the check that says, “12/2022 Tax Refund 30 INT $108.41”

Now, last year, we received a letter that she had money in a 401K at a company she worked for in the ‘80’s, but when we called to check on it, we found the company handling it is defunct. We were referred to some agency (can’t remember who) and they researched it but said there is no record of anything due. We just forgot about it.

Question, could this money possibly be that old 401K (Lynn remembered nothing about it) that was turned over to the government and they just located her through her SSN? Then sent it to her with interest? If so, why does it say “tax refund”?

I don’t know whether to simply deposit it and hope it’s legit, or start making phone calls to (the IRS?) and see if they can tell me what it’s for. Any ideas or suggestions from you know-abouters out there?

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In the famous words of Steve Miller, take the money and run!

Well, that's my first thought! BUT ... I've read of mistakes before where somebody receives a bazillion $$$ check from the IRS, then spend a shitload of it, only to get contacted by the IRS about an accounting error and the money is to be paid back. We've pretty much depleted our savings to make up for the income loss over the past few years, so I plan on putting it into savings and pretend we never saw it, BUT .... there IS that Alaska cruise I've had my eyes on, but couldn't afford, so I don't know how long it will take before that cash starts burning a hole in my pocket. ;)

FYI that’s not a braillion dollars.

If you’re worried deposit it in savings, or buy a cd with it, or cash it and sit on it.

Or I’ll keep it for you.

BKB

Well, when you’re broke and living off Social Security, 12K may as well be a bazillion $. ;)

I’d just feel a lot more comfortable knowing where the money came from so I can make an intelligent decision on what to do with it.

Uncle Joe heard all your bitching and kavetching and decided to send you a little sumpin sumpin. Enjoy Tahiti on Dark Brandon!

BKB

The description definitely sounds like a tax refund along with some interest for holding into your money. How the return address is the Bureau of Fiscal Management or something similar. Those are the folks you usually hear from about unpaid tax debts which makes me think they grabbed some assets (maybe the 401k) and then determined it was done incorrectly and are returning them. I would try contacting them and not the IRS.


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You mean contact the Bureau of Fiscal Management? I'll Google them and see if I can get a contact number. The note stating it's a "tax refund" just led me to think IRS. I guess that'll be my project for Thursday as tomorrow is our 38th anniversary and we'll be stuffing our pie holes at our favorite Brazilian steak house in Tampa.

It makes sense I suppose. The letter told us she had a 401K from a company that no longer exists. Maybe it's one of those "lost money" deals and was turned over to the gubment before we called around trying to locate it. Every firm we talked to said there is no record of anything owed to us. That's the ONLY thing I can come up with. It's in the bank now, but I'll feel much better if I can find out where it came from and if it's legitimately ours. It'll prolly go for something totally boring ... like a new roof. I'm not sure the one we have will live through another hurricane season. :(

Well, this looks like the people I need to talk to:

Bureau of the Fiscal Service

Questions about payments received from the government (checks or direct deposit):
Federal Disbursement Services and Modernization, Innovation, and Payment Resolution 855-868-0151

It would have been much simpler if they'd enclosed a letter or notice of some sort instead of just sending a check, out of the blue, with zero explanation.

That’s the right people I think. Good news is they may be a bit more helpful/responsive than the IRS. Maybe.


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Ha! What a frigging joke! I called the Bureau of the Fiscal Service and surprisingly, immediately got ahold of a human being. I went through my story and he asked for the numbers on the check, which I gave him. He then told me the check was a 2022 tax return for $12082.41 ... well duh, I'd just told him Lynn has not worked OR received a paycheck in over 3 years and we have no tax refund coming to us. He then said since it's a "tax refund", we need to call the IRS, then proceeded to give me the number to call.

Alright, now it gets interesting ... talking to a human being is not in the works. It's all automated. I followed the prompts as directed and they had me enter Lynn's SSN, her filing status and the (return) dollar amount listed on her paperwork. Fine, I entered the requested info and for the dollar amount, I entered 0 ... I only file because she has an IRA and the IRS requires us to file even if we have not withdrawn anything. Zero income reported, zero return ... what a waste of time and effort. Ok, so I enter zero and the recording tells me it's an invalid answer and I must enter the correct dollar amount. I enter 0 again and get the same response, zero is invalid and there HAS to be a dollar amount entered. So, I enter $1 and I guess it was then accepted. Then the recording tells me the return is still being processed! There was no option to talk with a human and I was then cut off. Heck, I filed her taxes in March, it seems they'd have it figured out by now, but whatever. The bottom line is, I still have no clue what this check is for and it appears nobody wants to even talk to me about it.

I have a feeling this could drag out forever. We'll end up spending the money and 5 years from now, I'll get a notice there's a lien on the house and I owe the IRS $12,000 + $1,000,000 interest! WTF??

FWIW, I have known a few people in my lifetime. I haven’t met anyone though that received a check from the government and then had a lien or any other collection action against them. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.
Like I said, for what that’s worth, I’d be down at Bass Pro tomorrow.
I’m not saying it hasn’t happened. I’m just dubious it would in this instance.
BKB

P-hole, when I left California to move back to Florida, I’d sold my house and my accountant told me there would be no Capital Gains in Florida. I moved here, bought my house (with a big down payment), then put everything I had left into starting my business. A couple years later, I got a notice from the IRS that they’d slapped a lien on my house and I owed them (can’t remember the amount). I went down to the local IRS office and was confronted by the nastiest bitch you’d ever want to meet. She basically told me to pay what I owe, or lose my house. I about went ballistic, did a tap-dance on her desk and demanded to talk with her supervisor.

I went in to plead my case with “the boss” and she made the first bitch look like a Girl Scout! I stormed out, went home and got on the phone with the main office in (I think) Atlanta. What a turn-around! This lady could have been my grandmother and was one of the most accommodating people I’d ever encountered. We worked out a payment plan and she must have asked 20 times if I was sure I was happy with it. I told her I’d get the debt paid off within those terms. She then told me if I had ANY problem at all making the payments, get back with her and she would make an adjustment I could live with. I think I paid it off within a year or two, (can’t remember … it was the very early 90’s) and the lien was lifted.

What surprised me is they slapped that lien on my house so fast it made my head swim. The lien was already in place before I even knew there was a problem.

Jim, I wonder if someone has stolen her SSN in order to work legally for n the US?


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Hmmmm, now that’s an angle I never considered. Good question. That illegal would have to make some pretty good money picking oranges for a $12K return, but I suppose it’s possible. The interest throws me though. I assume it’s something that’s been possibly sitting around for a while. (?)

This is the most ridiculous fucking thing I've ever experienced! I've been trying all morning to talk to a fucking human being at the IRS. I've determined it's an impossibility. I've been searching the net and calling every "how to talk to a fucking human being at the IRS" number listed. They ALL end up looping back to the same useless recorded message that offers NOTHING regarding my question. After following the same exact prompts I get with every call, it ends up at the same place ... telling me the status of my return (which is, "it's being processed").

I just went back through my call list and have called NINE different numbers ... they ALL go to the same recorded message. I've also been told to call my local IRS office for an appointment. We DO have a local IRS office ... appointments only. So, I called for an appointment, but guess what? I get the same mother fucking recording ... just one vicious, worthless circle! No way to make an appointment. No way to leave a call-back number. No way to talk to a living, breathing, human being.

Ok, I decided to try the option the recording gives. Instead of calling, the recording tells me to go to the IRS website to inquire there. What does that get me? The same exact thing as the recording ... in print form!

Nine phone numbers (so far) plus the official website and I got nuttin'!!

What a worthless pieceofshitmotherfuckingbottomfeedingtrumpetmonkey organization we have here. :banghead

Edit: I just found phone number #10. It's for the local IRS office to make an appointment. I was about to call when I noticed this printed on a banner a couple lines below the number:

This office is closed and works like a virtual assistant now.

I'll give you ONE guess as to where that takes me! ARRRRGGGGHHHH! :AR

Yeah, the IRS is the worst to deal with. I wish I had better news for you but I wouldn’t expect any human you finally get hold of to be able to tell you anything more than “the return is being processed”.


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Ha! Makes all the sense in the world. The return is “still being processed”, yet they’ve already mailed a $12K+ check. Typical government.

The solutions is so easy I can't believe you haven't already thought of it yourself. Quit paying your taxes and they'll set up a meeting with you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thumper

This is the most ridiculous fucking thing I've ever experienced! I've been trying all morning to talk to a fucking human being at the IRS. I've determined it's an impossibility. I've been searching the net and calling every "how to talk to a fucking human being at the IRS" number listed. They ALL end up looping back to the same useless recorded message that offers NOTHING regarding my question. After following the same exact prompts I get with every call, it ends up at the same place ... telling me the status of my return (which is, "it's being processed").

I just went back through my call list and have called NINE different numbers ... they ALL go to the same recorded message. I've also been told to call my local IRS office for an appointment. We DO have a local IRS office ... appointments only. So, I called for an appointment, but guess what? I get the same mother fucking recording ... just one vicious, worthless circle! No way to make an appointment. No way to leave a call-back number. No way to talk to a living, breathing, human being.

Ok, I decided to try the option the recording gives. Instead of calling, the recording tells me to go to the IRS website to inquire there. What does that get me? The same exact thing as the recording ... in print form!

Nine phone numbers (so far) plus the official website and I got nuttin'!!

What a worthless pieceofshitmotherfuckingbottomfeedingtrumpetmonkey organization we have here. :banghead

Edit: I just found phone number #10. It's for the local IRS office to make an appointment. I was about to call when I noticed this printed on a banner a couple lines below the number:

This office is closed and works like a virtual assistant now.

I'll give you ONE guess as to where that takes me! ARRRRGGGGHHHH! :AR

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Ha ha ha! Neither of us even makes enough to pay any income taxes. I personally haven't paid any since 2009. She just went on Social Security this month (after having zero income for over 3 years) and makes just over half of what I make. Any more ideas? :huh

Well, I understand that your IRS is getting 80 some odd thousand new agents so maybe one of them will answer the phone. Maybe?

Ha! It’ll take all those agents to try to bust anyone trying to make more than $650/year on eBay!