SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Some people received refund checks from the IRS even though they were told they owed them money. Is it simply just a nice surprise or a mistake?
One tax expert says it could be the result of an error in completing the return, so the IRS corrected it and sent a refund.
Another expert says there could be another reason, so be cautious.
“My suggestion certainly is (to) not just go ahead and deposit it, but make sure that they understand exactly what it's for before they do,” said Flaminius Ching, CPA at Purewal & Ching CPAs.
There’s a chance it could be a glitch in the system.
“The IRS is governing millions of peoples’ returns. A lot of it is systemic in their computers and so when these errors arise, things just happen automatically. There (is a) need sometimes to have human intervention, a call, to understand exactly what's happening there,” said Ching.
If anyone received a check by mistake, they’re still responsible so be diligent and check your mail.
“Typically, what the IRS will do shortly after you receive your check is they will communicate in the form of a letter explaining to you what exactly that adjustment was for,” said Ching.
If anyone gets an expected check, Ching recommends taking these steps…
- Wait for a letter to arrive. IRS should almost always provide a letter for any adjustments/corrections to returns.
- Setup your online account. IRS uses a robust way of authenticating your identity through ID.me, so be prepared for that. There is a lot of great information that can be found in the portal. All taxpayers are encouraged to set one up even if they do not have an issue.
- If there is no communication found in the IRS portal regarding the refund, people should contact the IRS at the customer service line: 1-800-829-1040
- Generate a “tax transcript” from your portal and investigate where the adjustment may have occurred on your own.
Another option, if anyone files with a tax professional, is to lean on them to investigate the issue. Tax professionals generally have a special ‘tax practitioner hotline’ with shorter hold times. Unfortunately, most professionals don’t have the capacity to handle those investigation until after the peak season.
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