Posted on 02/17/2005 11:05:17 AM PST by Salgak
This morning, I checked my bank account online, to see exactly what my pay was this week (I'm hourly, so it varies), and to my very pleasant surprise, my refund from the Commonwealth of Virginia's Department of Taxation was there as well. . .3 days after they accepted my electronically-filed return.
So I **THEN** hit the IRS Website, link above, to check status on my Federal Refund. And got an interesting response: it told me to CALL the IRS, give a specific extension, and reference a certain code-number. I did so.
The IRS person who eventually answered (~5 minutes on hold) told me, after verifying who I was, etc., that the Internal Revenue Service is re-checking EVERY Federal Tax Return with a refund of over $2500.00 with their "error-check" department, and because of this (it was in and out in a day. . .), my refund is delayed a full week, until sometime in early March. . .
Don't mean to be paranoid. . .but doesn't it seem odd, that EVERY return over a certain thresh-hold is checked ? And especially now, early in the season, when the electronic filers do it: their software has ALREADY checked it for math errors, etc. . .
Or is this just a means for Uncle to hang on to our refunds just a little bit longer??? After all, the longer they have the funds, the more they can do with them. . . Or make just a little more money interest off of it. . Comments, observations, etc ???
"Double check" is not an audit.
It means some low level government knucklehead glances at it, looks away, then glances at it again.
Nothing like giving your uncle an interest free $7000 loan for a year.
He's either over withheld or had an unusual year.
The IRS currently emloys half again more people than the entire US Army.
Yes, that's likely too. He probably answered it twice, just to be sure.
You could ask 100 people at the IRS a question, and get 100 different answers. The person who told you that sounds like a
"quota hire".
Double checked means it is shuffled to another desk before it is mailed.
Ping!
That's what I told him too.
I'm getting back $2694 and I didn't get any such notice. My refund should post tomorrow (according to their website) - I e-filed on the 9th of Feb.
He's got two kids and a stay at home wife and claims nada.
I told him he could do himself a favor by having them deduct less and increasing his cash flow but he's one of those that likes the big check.
You can lead a horse to water.
I always go to
http://www.irs.gov
I never knew there was a another url for the IRS like the one you have linked. I guess both are legit url's?
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/
Dont file electronically, it simplifies their job.
if you get a refund, you've paid too much.
The thing I have noticed is that if you don't like the first answer they give you, just call back and you'll get a different answer. Call ten times and you will get ten different answers.
They don't seem to know anymore about the tax code than I do --- they just seem to make it up as they go.
Support the Fair Tax. Bury the income tax.
You probably talked to one of their Bangalore employees.
I had one of these computer checks last year that caught a difference between what I reported on my return and one of the 1099's that was in my return. Turns out I had an explanation, but that didn't stop the computer from reporting my return as "faulty".
1. The IRS drone told you the first explanation that popped into his head so he could get back to his coffee break.
2. The IRS does extra checks (i.e. see if the bank account is the same one as last year's return) on large refunds to detect scam artists who file bogus returns for refunds to be deposited in a one-shot dropbox account, on the theory that nobody is going to risk a term in the federal pen for less than $X.
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