The IRS is messed up.

[clh2]

My SIL and BIL filed a paper return in 2021 for their 2020 taxes. They owed money, so they included the check.

A couple of days ago, they got a letter from the IRS stating they are still processing returns, but they owed money, and to either send the money, or proof that they paid.

The IRS cashed their check within days of their receipt of the check.

(But, why on earth are they still filing paper returns just baffles me.)

 

[marcyleecorgan]

they didn't mail it registered mail? if I have to include payment in my IRS mail, I ALWAYS pay for the registered option...

 

[kdonnel]

I believe there are certain tax situations and resulting forms that can only be processed on paper.

They wrote a check. Proving payment seems easy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Maybe have them send them the proof it went through on their bank account.

Stuff happens. Sounds like the money owed wasn't marked as having been paid for them when the return was eventually physically looked at.

My husband once had that with an apartment complex. They cashed the last check but sent him a letter saying they would send him to collections if he didn't pay them. He just sent them proof that the check was cashed and processed through his bank account.

As far as why they are still looking at it remember that the tax deadline was extended into mid-May in 2021 for 2020 taxes, add onto that staffing shortages, USPS mail being slowed down, etc it's not all that surprising.

Also I had this happen when I was a teen, it's a long story but suffice to say I filed taxes claiming myself in early February of that year but it was around Thanksgiving that I got a notice that one or more persons had tried to claim me as a dependent but because I had already claimed myself and it was accepted the other person was not able to claim me (the other person was my father). Sometimes tax stuff takes a long time to get through and a notice sent.

 

[Southernmiss]

Eh, mistakes happen.

Send a copy of proof of payment.

All done.

This is so small it's not even something I would discuss outside my own house.

 

[cvjw]

One year, the IRS applied a payment due for one minor son to the account of other minor son. Took multiple phone calls to get that one straightened out.

 

[China Expat]

Interesting. We always have our taxes professionally done, and this year they wanted more money, sent an additional refund for $45, and then we received a bill claiming we owed $45. They are not on their game.

 

[luvsvacation]

Our paper return from last year still has not been processed either…they sure cashed the check the second they got it though! I just checked yesterday and it still says not processed I’m really irritated because I accidentally overpaid them and I can’t get me money back until they process it and realize I overpaid. It was fully my fault, I owed a lot to state and only a small amount to federal. I accidentally wrote the checks wrong and overpaid federal and shorted state…of course state let me know this pretty quickly and I paid them the difference…now I’ve been waiting almost a year for federal to process and give me my money back!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Interesting. We always have our taxes professionally done, and this year they wanted more money, sent an additional refund for $45, and then we received a bill claiming we owed $45. They are not on their game.

If it was the exact amount I'd be wondering if my tax professional made a mistake and checked off a box, put a figure in, claimed something that I wasn't eligible for.

 

[starry_solo]

Hey, my parents were supposed to get a refund for the 2020 taxes as dad overestimated the amount of taxes that was going to be owed so sent that in January 2021. Sent actual tax return in February 2021, got a letter from the IRS in March 2021, questioning one thing (dad had put the information on the line above, instead of the line below, so sent them a letter to that effect)....waiting for refund....it finally showed up earlier this month (January 2022) with interest!

 

[JimMIA]

The IRS does have their "moments" from time to time, but they have been operating with a combination of remote work and lack of manpower for a couple of years due to Covid. As a result, they have already announced that refunds will be delayed this year.

OP's particular problem seems like a very easy fix, and I'm sure it will get worked out.

 

[longboard55]

The IRS moves very slow but they will work it out eventually. I do all my payments online, they seem to make mistakes often when mailed

 

[MarcIsMe]

May want to suggest they include a copy of the reverse of the check, there is a line that includes the primary social, the tax form and period applied to. Mailed checks are keypunched manually and mistakes happen.

 

[mjkacmom]

Ds23 accidentally overpaid $3000 last year, they ack the error but he’s still waiting, calls them once a week.

 

[HsvTeacher]

We just received our 2019 refund a few week ago. We filed in 2020 and had to get a taxpayer advocate involved before the IRS would even look into it.

 

[easyas123]

We just received our 2019 refund a few week ago. We filed in 2020 and had to get a taxpayer advocate involved before the IRS would even look into it.

Both of our adult sons got their 2019 refunds about 6 & 8 weeks ago. We've had a snafu w/ our returns and have filed all the paperwork they asked for but we periodically we get a letter saying they are busy and they need another 60 days to address it. So far it's been over a year & a half and 4 letters saying they need another 60 days. That is also related to our 2019 returns. I may look into the taxpayer advocate you mentioned!

 

[barkley]

Both of our adult sons got their 2019 refunds about 6 & 8 weeks ago. We've had a snafu w/ our returns and have filed all the paperwork they asked for but we periodically we get a letter saying they are busy and they need another 60 days to address it. So far it's been over a year & a half and 4 letters saying they need another 60 days. That is also related to our 2019 returns. I may look into the taxpayer advocate you mentioned!

my oldest got a notice in october of 2020 saying she had incorrectly done her 2018 return and they were hitting her with a big bill. cpa looked at and said 'nope, we did it right' so we sent a letter contesting it. we got those same 60 day notices for months and months until they said again that they didn't agree with the way the return was done. finally sent them a photocopy of a page from the irs website with the portion that showed how it was filed highlighted. more months of 60 day notices. took well over a year for them to say 'yeah, you're right' hated seeing my kid stressing over thousands of dollars they said was owed to them (plus the mounting interest they kept reminding about with each of the 60 day letters).

 

[OneOftheB's]

Ds23 accidentally overpaid $3000 last year, they ack the error but he’s still waiting, calls them once a week.

I would encourage him to call his congress person, they should have an irs liaison who will follow up & might get the ball rolling. The good news is after a period of time, the irs is required to pay interest to you on the refund amount

 

[KittyKitty]

My family have a business doing tax returns. If you remember, it was in Jan/Feb. 2021 that federal government changed the status of stimulus checks(I think that's what they were called) from taxable to not taxable. Many taxpayers had already filed their tax return. So IRS had to change their process, then eventually told the taxpayers not to refile, IRS will revise their returns, but it would be very slow. I know my family was still working on 2020 returns this last August.
We don't have state income tax here in WA state, so don't know if it was the same situation.

 

[HsvTeacher]

Both of our adult sons got their 2019 refunds about 6 & 8 weeks ago. We've had a snafu w/ our returns and have filed all the paperwork they asked for but we periodically we get a letter saying they are busy and they need another 60 days to address it. So far it's been over a year & a half and 4 letters saying they need another 60 days. That is also related to our 2019 returns. I may look into the taxpayer advocate you mentioned!

The taxpayer advocate was the biggest help in this mess! It was a huge process and a long wait to be able to get assigned one, but once she made contact with us, everything was resolved in a little over two months. You must have a financial hardship OR have tried to resolve the situation on your own for an extended time, I believe it was six months, before you can request an advocate.

Not sure if this makes a difference or not, but we received absolutely no correspondence from the IRS. When I would check our refund status, it would only show that our refund was being processed. We tried to get information for over a year before an advocate was mentioned so make sure you keep meticulous documentation.