More fun with the IRS
So on Friday, I got this mysterious bill that told me I owed $2,500 to the IRS because funds had been "misapplied".
Being the sort of person I am, I promptly went through checking and found that I've paid the IRS several times this year. So I called to figure out what in the hell misapplied means.
Turns out that they confused my account with someone else's, got a payment from someone else, so mailed me a refund. Once they figured out that they'd screwed up (a year later - not the brightest bulbs here), they decided to ask for the money back...with fees and penalties.
Took about an hour to get this sorted out (record times after the capital gains snafu), and I was told that I could get the fees and penalties removed, seeing as it wasn't my fault that they were morons. (Saving me about $500...or around 1/5 of the total bill.)
Moral of this story is: Always question the IRS. They are capable of some blindingly stupid things. (Also, always keep clear bank records. So useful when dealing with this sort of thing as you can point to the exact check and say, "I know what you did there...")
Gah. I suppose not that big a deal, as I'm only paying back what I owe. But still. Annoying as nothing else.
Being the sort of person I am, I promptly went through checking and found that I've paid the IRS several times this year. So I called to figure out what in the hell misapplied means.
Turns out that they confused my account with someone else's, got a payment from someone else, so mailed me a refund. Once they figured out that they'd screwed up (a year later - not the brightest bulbs here), they decided to ask for the money back...with fees and penalties.
Took about an hour to get this sorted out (record times after the capital gains snafu), and I was told that I could get the fees and penalties removed, seeing as it wasn't my fault that they were morons. (Saving me about $500...or around 1/5 of the total bill.)
Moral of this story is: Always question the IRS. They are capable of some blindingly stupid things. (Also, always keep clear bank records. So useful when dealing with this sort of thing as you can point to the exact check and say, "I know what you did there...")
Gah. I suppose not that big a deal, as I'm only paying back what I owe. But still. Annoying as nothing else.