I know. I’m just pissed, and upset that I’m having so much trouble getting them to accept my damned money.
Yes, if only the IRS had some fillable forms you can file online for free.
On that page, if you click on the link to start your 2010 taxes you’re taken to a page that starts with this:
I was just about to post that, thanks.
Yes, you can choose from one of 20 companies, if you satisfy certain conditions*, blah, blah, blah.
OR, in a different universe, I could just log on to irs.gov and do my fucking taxes there.
*One of which is if your AGI is less than a certain amount. Of course, to calculate your AGI, you need to fill out a tax form.
I have gone that route the last two years. Rejected both times, for reasons unknoiwn to me. In 2010 I received no notice of rejection, and assumed I was good. Long story short, my form, W-2, and payment vanished into the ether, and I am on the hook for over $4K in penalties and interest.
Just yesterday I finally managed to convince an evil, mustache-twirling douche at the IRS office to at least credit my 2009 W-2. He actually acted like I should be grateful that they were no longer going to ask me to re-pay my entire 2009 withholding. Every dime of penalty and interest still stands.
This year I fell prey again to the promise of easy online filing, but watched my e-mails and bank account like a hawk. When the rejection came in, I hurriedly stuffed all my papers in an envelope and still made the deadline. I was obliged to pay both online and via check, and am still watching to make sure I don’t get double-charged.
So…be very careful about easy online filing.
They mean it. Any complaints about problems with filing this way are met with “take it up with them.”
If you’re poor enough there is a version of TurboTax that is entirely free, feds and at least one state. I’ve used it the last few years.
As for the IRS, they suck. Last year I ended up owing them (weird situation) and went on a payment plan. They don’t send statements. There’s no way to find out your balance on their site, either. I had to call them. My creditors are nowhere near this insane.
Yeesh!! I was expecting the thread to say “and then the bank FOUND my bank account, and let the IRS debit that, so I’ve double-paid”… but at least THIS way, you aren’t bouncing checks. Yet.
Have you phoned anyone? Can you provide an image of the canceled check (presumably you don’t get the actual check back, but you should be able to get a scanned image of it from the bank).
On reread: I see you are phoning people and have the canceled check.
I’d bet the letter you got today (yesterday?) was a response to the original electronic debit being refused, and was sent in ignorance of the other payment having been made.
Well, apparently I’m the one who deserves the pitting. As it turns out, the IRS did nothing wrong. The “credits erroneously applied”, and then reversed, were referring to my first attempt at payment; the one through Turbo Tax that failed. They did receive and deposit my second attempt (the check) but the letter was sent out before it was credited to my account. The very nice lady I spoke with said that she would put a hold on the claim to give it the few days it takes for deposits to show up as credits and that I should call next week to make certain that I was credited.
As to why the first payment failed, the bank account number they received from Turbo Tax was incorrect. I apparently dropped the first two digits. :smack:
So. Not their fault. All my fault. :smack::smack::smack::smack::smack:
I’m sure your positions seem quite complex, in your head. On the outside, not so much.
I help run our family’s tax representation firm, so I have a bit of background in this (just prefacing the next part). They are supposed to be sending you monthly statements. For instance, not only do my clients get monthly statements for their Installment Agreements, but we also get a copies. For every. Single. Client. You would not believe the amount of paper we get each day. 
Perhaps they have the wrong address on file for you or maybe your mailman sucks, but you most definitely should be getting monthly statements.
To the OP: if this ends up not being cleared up as they say it is (happens a lot, sadly), contact your local Congressman’s office. You’d be surprised how quickly they can get this stuff straightened out for you (and they will, there are people in their offices to handle stuff just like this).
That was my next planned course of action, and it’s what I’ll do if I don’t get credited within a week.
A week? That’s. . . well, you’re probably going to end up calling your Congressman heh.
She told me to call next week. The check was cashed on 5/6 so it’ll actually be more like two weeks.
How long it takes them to acknowledge payment isn’t a big deal to me. I just want to avoid… well, whatever it is that happens if they think you haven’t payed what’s due.
Turbo tax is the result of a treaty reached between the IRS and the private sector several years ago. The IRS was developing online software for you to file directly online with the IRS. Outfits like turbotax got the project killed but had to agree to process low income taxpayers for free.
Lawrence Lessig wrote an article saying just that. California beta’ed a program that users loved, and the tax software companies threw a fit.
I have to say that the online system for filing and paying Maryland state taxes is a thing of beauty, and should be replicated by one and all. The “freefillableforms” site that the IRS uses, on the other hand… well it’s free, and I’ve used it successfully twice now, but it’s a piece of shit.
You got it. I e-filed this year, the software didn’t work, and it failed to transmit one of my fields, causing the IRS to think I owed hundreds more than I did. Luckily I e-filed early enough that I was able to correct it by sending in another, paper return.
At least, I think I corrected it. Who knows what the IRS thinks.
Next year, fuck e-filing. I’m sending in paper for the rest of my life. I might even send extra forms just to make them wade through more shit.