# Does The IRS Keep Your Money If You Accidently Over Pay



## fmdog44 (Sep 24, 2019)

My 2017 tax return was wrong and I overpaid $2,324.00. I caught this mistake doing my 2018 tax. Why did the IRS not refund this money to me in 2017? After I applied with an amended return and got my refund of $2,234. Oddly, after I got my check I received a letter rom the IRS saying a check for $2,111was in the mail. So they did two things wrong. First not giving me my refund in 2017 then getting the amount wrong in the letter. I read many years ago if you over pay they will not refund your money to you. Comments?


----------



## jujube (Sep 24, 2019)

I overpaid one year and didn't realize it.  When I got my refund check for more than I had put in for, there was an explanation that I had made a mathematical error. 

One year the nice people at the  IRS sent me TWO refund checks.  I cashed one and called to ask what to do with the other one.  I was told to hold onto it until I was contacted.  Three months later, I called again.  Same answer.  After that, I called once a month.  At the end of a year, I sent it back to the regular address with a return receipt.  I never heard anything from them but I had myself covered.  I've always wondered what would have happened if I had cashed both of them.


----------



## fmdog44 (Sep 24, 2019)

If thy send me a check for the amount given in the letter I am cashing it.


----------



## Judycat (Sep 24, 2019)

Ha. The IRS. We owed them money and it took them three years to figure it out. Tax preparer we hired made a mistake.


----------



## Knight (Sep 25, 2019)

jujube said:


> I overpaid one year and didn't realize it.  When I got my refund check for more than I had put in for, there was an explanation that I had made a mathematical error.
> 
> One year the nice people at the  IRS sent me TWO refund checks.  I cashed one and called to ask what to do with the other one.  I was told to hold onto it until I was contacted.  Three months later, I called again.  Same answer.  After that, I called once a month.  At the end of a year, I sent it back to the regular address with a return receipt.  I never heard anything from them but I had myself covered.  I've always wondered what would have happened if I had cashed both of them.


Were it me I would have cashed the 2nd. check, invested that money in something paying interest. Then if asked to return the over payment I would cash out the amount overpaid, send the IRS the amount requested to return & kept the interest gained.


----------



## TravelinMan (Sep 25, 2019)

The way I understand it, if your tax return was filled out incorrectly the IRS has no way of knowing that until you file an amended return.


----------



## fmdog44 (Oct 10, 2019)

TravelinMan said:


> The way I understand it, if your tax return was filled out incorrectly the IRS has no way of knowing that until you file an amended return.


I used to get notices and refunds when I crewed up but that was 20 years ago.


----------



## 911 (Oct 12, 2019)

I have experienced it both ways. One year, the IRS sent me $100 too much. About 7 months later, I received a letter that when they audited my return, they overpaid me $100.00. I had to pay them $108.00. No penalty, but they added interest. The letter said that because they issue refunds before they do audits, mistakes happen. The letter also stated that they have 3 years to audit individual returns.

Then there was the time that I underpaid them by $400. You guessed it. No penalty, but they added interest from April 17 that year. I sent them a check for over $500 to pay back my underpayment of $400.


----------



## Catlady (Oct 12, 2019)

I always have my tax return prepared professionally.  There is a saying:  "Being smart is knowing what you're dumb at".  I'm smart enough to know that I am dumb at taxes.

Don't know if this is true, but my tax preparer told me that the IRS seldom audits average retired people.  They're understaffed and only really look at stuff that is really suspicious, like more deductions than income and big differences in income or expenses from prior years or self employed people.  I've never had any problems with refunds, they've always been accurate and they go straight to my account.  I also file electronically.


----------



## 911 (Oct 13, 2019)

PVC said:


> I always have my tax return prepared professionally.  There is a saying:  "Being smart is knowing what you're dumb at".  I'm smart enough to know that I am dumb at taxes.
> 
> Don't know if this is true, but my tax preparer told me that the IRS seldom audits average retired people.  They're understaffed and only really look at stuff that is really suspicious, like more deductions than income and big differences in income or expenses from prior years or self employed people.  I've never had any problems with refunds, they've always been accurate and they go straight to my account.  I also file electronically.


That's well and good, except for those of us that have to send in quarterly payments and estimate our yearly income. That's why sometimes we are over what we owe or under what we owe.

I use a tax accountant too, but he/she can't always hit the exact numbers of my earnings when estimating my yearly income and make my quarterly payment.


----------



## Catlady (Oct 13, 2019)

911 said:


> That's well and good, except for those of us that have to send in quarterly payments and estimate our yearly income. That's why sometimes we are over what we owe or under what we owe.  I use a tax accountant too, but he/she can't always hit the exact numbers of my earnings when estimating my yearly income and make my quarterly payment.



OOoops, okay, I was thinking of regular returns.  I had to do that for one year, I forget how it went when estimating.


----------

