I.R.S. letter

[Tigerlily]

I arrived home today and found a letter from the I.R.S saying that they are sending an annual letter of my debt from the tax year 2001. This letter which is the first of it's kind that I have ever states that I owe 976.00 and to please pay, dispute or make arrangements by Jan 17, 2011.

I have never itemized, claimed anyone that I did not give birth to and support so I am really perplexed at this point. I have received a refund every year since the mid- 1990's. If I owed this money would they not have deducted it from a subsequent refund?

I am quite confused about this. I have filed online for years and I cannot even be sure if I have my returns from 2001 at this point. If I dispute something I do not know about will I be further scrutinized on my more recent returns?

I thought they could only go back seven years. I have a friend who is a tax accountant but she is on vacation this week and I do not want to bother her at home. The thought of contacting the I.R.S. Isnfreaking me out though. Also gotta love how the letter is dated the 27th of December and they want me to pony up close to a grand in the next three weeks.

[Aerogal]

exactly where are you to send the funds too? Sounds like a scam. I'd take a deep breath and call tomorrow and ask. Don't call the poc on the letter (if there is one).

[Dakota (Premo)]

I got a phone call last year from a friend whose son got a letter such as this and after we followed up on it, he found out that a bank had forgiven him and written off a debt he owed, now he is responsible to report that as income and pay taxes on it.

I would suggest you call them. It may have zero to do with your taxes and everything to do with an unpaid bill you may have had at the time or it could be a total scam.

[struggler44]

I believe there is a 7 yr statute for them to check your returns but the part about an "annual" letter means if they claim they sent you a letter in the past about a debt, the 7 yr deal is nul as long as the first letter was within the 7 yr period(doesn't matter if you received them or not). Seems as though it may be legit, may not be accurate but I would contact them and ask them to explain(unless you have something to hide). I dealt with it and it's a pain but the worse thing you could do would be ignore it. If you contact them now, they may wave penalties and such......Good Luck

[ProfMoneyWise]

Originally Posted by Tigerlily

I arrived home today and found a letter from the I.R.S saying that they are sending an annual letter of my debt from the tax year 2001. This letter which is the first of it's kind that I have ever states that I owe 976.00 and to please pay, dispute or make arrangements by Jan 17, 2011.

I have never itemized, claimed anyone that I did not give birth to and support so I am really perplexed at this point. I have received a refund every year since the mid- 1990's. If I owed this money would they not have deducted it from a subsequent refund?

I am quite confused about this. I have filed online for years and I cannot even be sure if I have my returns from 2001 at this point. If I dispute something I do not know about will I be further scrutinized on my more recent returns?

I thought they could only go back seven years. I have a friend who is a tax accountant but she is on vacation this week and I do not want to bother her at home. The thought of contacting the I.R.S. Isnfreaking me out though. Also gotta love how the letter is dated the 27th of December and they want me to pony up close to a grand in the next three weeks.

The IRS will never call or e-mail, they will initiate contact via U.S. Mail - Check

The IRS will ask you to call them - Check

So far so good. Verify the number provided is indeed the IRS.

If you have done nothing knowingly wrong you have nothing to fear. If you dispute an incorrect charge let them scrutinize all they want. Again, if you do nothing wrong you have nothing to fear.

Call the IRS at a number verified by you that you are indeed calling the IRS. Find out the details and go from there.

Document who you speak to, time, date and context of call.

When your friend comes back home involve them if you feel this is wrong and they are not asking for the entire amount by January just to make arrangements. The IRS actually works pretty well with payment arrangements if needed..

If this is your debt I do suggest you put it at the top of your list to get paid in full. The IRS is not to be messed with and they, like federally backed student loans, don't need to go to court to get a judgement against you.

Finally, if it is your debt don't be surprised if you don't get contacted by the State you resided in at the time. Everyone will want their cut if it is owed.

[Tigerlily]

Originally Posted by Aerogal

exactly where are you to send the funds too? Sounds like a scam. I'd take a deep breath and call tomorrow and ask. Don't call the poc on the letter (if there is one).

Internal Revenue Service
Stop 5000
P.O. Box 219236
Kansas City, MO 64121-9236

This is the address on the remit slip, page three of the notice. I still do not understand why if I did owe a debt that it would not have been deducted from anyone of the last eight returns that I have received since.

Another odd note is that page two of the notice states that the original principal amount was 477.81 it then details interest charges every six months which varies anywhere from .45 to 32.42 every six months. Side note is that the interest charges differ quite a bit in the span over the supposed years. The first six months states 6.01 and the most recent states 18.47.

The most costly charges are from December of 2005 to December of 2007. Another interesting thing I noticed is that the back of the first page states my unpaid balance is 603.92 but with interest is 945.49 but the first principle amount on page three is 477.81. I think I am going to really dread this call.

The letter states I can dispute but I have to provide proof. I am like hello it's nine years later where is there proof.

[struggler44]

Originally Posted by Tigerlily

Internal Revenue Service
Stop 5000
P.O. Box 219236
Kansas City, MO 64121-9236

This is the address on the remit slip, page three of the notice. I still do not understand why if I did owe a debt that it would not have been deducted from anyone of the last eight returns that I have received since.

Another odd note is that page two of the notice states that the original principal amount was 477.81 it then details interest charges every six months which varies anywhere from .45 to 32.42 every six months. Side note is that the interest charges differ quite a bit in the span over the supposed years. The first six months states 6.01 and the most recent states 18.47.

The most costly charges are from December of 2005 to December of 2007. Another interesting thing I noticed is that the back of the first page states my unpaid balance is 603.92 but with interest is 945.49 but the first principle amount on page three is 477.81. I think I am going to really dread this call.

The letter states I can dispute but I have to provide proof. I am like hello it's nine years later where is there proof.

Not wanting to get in your business but if you could keep us posted with any changes......

[ProfMoneyWise]

Originally Posted by Tigerlily

Internal Revenue Service
Stop 5000
P.O. Box 219236
Kansas City, MO 64121-9236

This is the address on the remit slip, page three of the notice. I still do not understand why if I did owe a debt that it would not have been deducted from anyone of the last eight returns that I have received since.

Another odd note is that page two of the notice states that the original principal amount was 477.81 it then details interest charges every six months which varies anywhere from .45 to 32.42 every six months. Side note is that the interest charges differ quite a bit in the span over the supposed years. The first six months states 6.01 and the most recent states 18.47.

The most costly charges are from December of 2005 to December of 2007. Another interesting thing I noticed is that the back of the first page states my unpaid balance is 603.92 but with interest is 945.49 but the first principle amount on page three is 477.81. I think I am going to really dread this call.

The letter states I can dispute but I have to provide proof. I am like hello it's nine years later where is there proof.

Phone number?

That is not the address to the IRS in Kansas City. They have two offices it looks like.

You ever live out that way?

[Tigerlily]

Originally Posted by struggler44

Not wanting to get in your business but if you could keep us posted with any changes......

I most certainly will. I so feel like Wille Nelson, Denzel Washington and Nick Cage and Val Kilmer right now. I get that you can usually get the interest knocked off if you pay them them the lump balance of the initial amount owed. I think if you make payments then they hit you for at the very least a portion of the interest.

I still am baffled that this is the first I have heard of anything in nine years. If I really owed a debt from previous year you would think they would have taken it from another years refund. I just don't know how I can dispute information that I may no longer have. I thought seven years was the magic number on paperwork.

[Tigerlily]

Originally Posted by ProfMoneyWise

Phone number?

That is not the address to the IRS in Kansas City. They have two offices it looks like.

You ever live out that way?

No I have lived in Maryland since 1989. The phone number on the letter is 800-829-7650. Also thanks for all the responses and guidance.