The IRS won't stop giving me money!

[osage outlaw]

Last year, we had our taxes done by H&R Block like we do every year.  We had a lot of deductions that year.  We bought our first house and got the big credit, adopted my stepson, plus we got a lot of deductions for all of the new stuff in our house like insulation and a heat pump.  When we got our refund, it was almost $2000 more than we were expecting.  We called the IRS and told them about it.  We were instructed to send a check for the extra amount back to them with a letter explaining it, which we did.  We never heard another thing about it.  Well, this year, we had our taxes done by H&R Block again and guess what.  When we got our refund, there was that extra money again.  This was about two weeks ago.  We have been talking to H&R Block about it.  They said that there must be a mistake somewhere on the IRS end.  Today, we got a letter from the IRS telling us that we had paid to much taxes and they adjusted our refund by the extra amount.  It is basically telling us that the money is ours.  Now, we don't know what to do.  An extra $2000 would really, really come in handy right now.  But, we don't want to spend it, and then get a letter from the IRS saying they found a problem and they want their money back.  I told the wife that we should put it in a savings account and forget about it.  If they find a mistake, we can just send it back to them.  If we don't hear anything about it for a couple of years, then we can spend it.    We just don't know what to do.  Has this happened to anyone else?

[Bevan R.]

Yes, I would suggest putting it into a CD or sum such. A cousin of mine had something like that happen (using direct deposit) and the gov just drafed the account for the amount they wanted.

Bevan R

[mullet]

`And I'd have someone else do my taxes.

[aero86]

hr block garuantees that they did it right or they pay if you get audited

[deerhunter97370]

I would put it in a money market account that has at lest 10% held over the last ten years. That way if they won't there money back next year you made intrest of their money.

[Jesse]

I wish. They just take my money. I wish they would send me a check for a change.

[Timo]

Dito on the money market. You wasn't expecting it, so use it like you weren't

[david w.]

Spend it all and don't worry about retirement, the IRS, or any trouble

[sailordad]

all the IRS does for me is take a whole bunch all year long
then tell me i need to pay more at the end of the year

as far as H&R block "paying" if you get audited
i beleive all they realy do is give you audit support
so basicaly they have one of their under paid chronies sit with you during your audit

when it comes to YOUR taxes
the only one repsonsible for them being done right is YOU
it doesnt matter if you paid a CPA or H&R block or any other so called tax professional
they screw up,its you that pays for it
i know,i learned this lesson the hard way
now we do them ourselves
atleast if they are wrong now,we didnt have to pay for them to be wrong

as far as the EXTRA money goes
i agree,put it in a money market acct.gain a little interest
when the IRS comes back for it you may need that extra to pay them the fines etc the ylevvy upon you for having THEIR  money
jm2cw  

[iowabow]

No here is funniest thing to do ask h&R what your max is on a roth IRA contrabution is for this year and invested in a CD. Now it is their money and you will make compounded intrest till retirement and then they cant tax it lol.

[osage outlaw]

I don't think H&R Block has done anything wrong.  They have been very helpful during all of this.  We tried doing the turbotax, but we get back a lot more with H&R Block.  I work out of state and I think that has something to do with it.  This is the second time that the IRS has given us this money.  I gave it back once, I don't feel like I should have to give it back again.  How does a money market account work?  How long do you have to keep it there?

[Pappy]

I would just put it in a simple saving account so you can get to it with no penalties if you need to,at least for a little while, I am with some others,wished they would give me some of MY money back,News flash,they don't have any money,it is all ours.
   Pappy

[cracker]

I will say for H&R they screwed up my taxes several years ago and they payed the penaltys but not the taxes.

[Cacatch]

I once went to H&R to see how much they would calculate that I should get back, and then how much they would charge me to do it. The girl playing part-time wanna be accountant, probably taking accounting 101 at the community college (if that) said all I could get would be about $625 and that I would owe them around $125 for doing it. I said No thanks and then went to my own trusty personal accountant and friend, who has been doing my taxes for years. I had planned to have him do my taxes all along, but I thought if H&R sounded reasonable I  might go with them just because I could get money faster and needed money fast. My friend, who is a CPA with a Masters Degree and is the senior accountant for a trucking company did my taxes and the anticipated refund figure was closer to $3000. He doesn't actually charge me anything, but I give him something for his time.  That was the last time I ever went to one of those tax preparer chain businesses.

Aside from that, if the IRS sent you a letter saying the money is yours, its YOURS. I would put the letter in the safe and deposit the money. End of story.

CP

[GaryR]

If you really need the money now, spend it. If the IRS asks for it back you can get on a payment plan.