Show me the money!
November 22, 2010 9:33 AM   Subscribe

I still haven't received my tax refund from way back in April. I've been in touch with the IRS, and my track record and paper trail are all on the up and up. I'm assured that it's all a misunderstanding, and once the bureaucratic machinations run their course, I will get my money. Will I? Has this ever happened to you?

I didn't file electronically, I mailed in my return the old fashioned way. The customer service agents at the IRS have surmised that someone else submitted taxes with my same social security number, in what appeared to be some kind of typo. I've been filing every year for about a dozen years from the same address - my records are all in order. I've been diligently contacting the IRS, I filed an identity theft form at their suggestion, and I've had the matter turned over to the Taxpayer Advocate Service at their suggestion. I'm doing my best to follow all of their instructions and remain patient - but as more time passes it's difficult to avoid the feeling that my case is just getting lost in a giant bureaucratic mess. The Taxpayer Advocate guy and some of the people I've spoken to at the IRS assure me that 6 months or so is still within the realm of normal for resolving matters like this. Has anyone else had any similar experiences? Is there anything else I should be doing to address the matter?
posted by fingers_of_fire to Law & Government (4 answers total)
 
Your intuition is right, something is really messed up here.

If you can, you should consider hiring a tax laywer. If nothing else, this is going to require a lot more phonecalls to cajole people into fixing this, and you may want some help in making them. Even if you can't hire one on an extended basis, having a conversation with an attorney who's seen this particular circus once can give you some good advice for how to proceed.

The taxpayer advocates are helpful, and they're a good idea. But, they are not a full substitute for your own representation.
posted by Citrus at 10:02 AM on November 22, 2010


I went through something similar and yes, it took more than half a year before I saw my check. In my case, someone stole my check before it got to me and cashed it. I had to submit handwriting samples so they could ensure it wasn't my endorsement on the back of the check. Eventually it was resolved, but they aren't quick about it.

I don't know that this would have helped you, but I learned that direct deposit of my refund into my bank account would have saved months of trouble.
posted by cecic at 10:03 AM on November 22, 2010


You might try contacting your congressman's district (not DC) office that is closest to your home for some constituent "casework" help.
posted by jgirl at 10:08 AM on November 22, 2010


Send a letter (certified mail, RRR) that you will start charging them penalties and fines according to the same schedule they do to people who are late to pay. Start counting not from the day you filed your return, but from the day you first started having it withheld (i.e., January 1 of that tax year). The letter may get you nowhere, but it would be pretty funny. You could even follow through with a small claims suit and see where it gets you. You'd have to see if there is any caselaw that would provide you with at least a flimsy legal standing to make the claim, but after that, let the IRS deal with having their attorneys fight with you. Hopefully, they'll find it quicker to just give you the money you are owed.
posted by Brian Puccio at 12:22 PM on November 22, 2010


« Older Gift for a Munich-bound BFF?   |   Help me stop being Shyamalan Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.