Some people say "hip, hip, hooray!" and go out to dinner and buy the plane tickets they've been wavering on buying for a couple of months. They might think, "Wow, this is an answer to prayer," or "Hmmm, I sure must have been living right. Blessings from Heaven!" They thank Heaven for the blessing and go put the blessings to work.
Other people react differently. They think, "How could I have possibly been wrong on my tax statement? That's inconceivable!" So they spend a few hours working through the calculations until they prove the IRS wrong. The original tax statement WAS correct. Ha! Take that, IRS. Then some people call the IRS to report the mistake, taking 30 minutes and talking to three different baffled employees to prove that the mistake is theirs and we don't really deserve the extra money. Then they finish the conversation by writing a $1300 check to the IRS and addressing an envelope, including a one-page type-written summary explaining the IRS error.
The next day when the letter flies off the mailbox in the wind and prevents the mailman from taking it, some people see that as a sign that the letter should not be mailed. Other people hand-deliver the letter to a postal drop box.
Some people. Seriously!
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the IRS does not give an "Honesty Credit" to people who call and ask if they can please not get extra money deposited into their bank account. I made him at least ask them that. :)
8 comments:
I can't believe that happened to you! What a fun way to write it and I'm sure you'll get honesty credit at some point (just maybe not in this life)!
I'll be the IRS people thought you were completely crazy! Very funny!
Ha! You're a good man, Ben Iverson.
(and you have a very supportive wife!)
For the record, it was $1,500, not $1,300. :)
Also, it turns out we weren't the only ones that the IRS had troubles with. This article says that overall they have paid out $24.7 million too much by messing up the same credits that they miscalculated for us! http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/auditing-the-i-r-s/
Wow, that is crazy! You are good people, that is for sure (but we all knew that already anyway!).
That is unfortunate. And a painful check to write. I guess it helps to think that it's not your money, but still. Thanks for sharing the tale Jen!
Yeah, but Ben, I'm sure your $1500 was the only money that was returned out of all of that $24.7 million. That's saying something.
And sometimes the IRS sends you a letter stating you did your taxes wrong last year and you owe them over $550 plus interest. Some people check their records because they couldn't possibly have done their taxes wrong. Some people, sure enough, owe the IRS over $550.
How did we miss out on this little tale until reading your blog? Jenn, when creativity was passed out in heaven, you got my share and everyone else's I know! I would rather read your blog and anything you write than Harry Potter anyday! Thanks for sharing in a way that only you can. And Ben, you make us proud. You must be sleeping good at night.
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