IRS scare ...

[MichaelOM]

... Got a letter from the IRS the other day telling us we owed them an additional $35,800 in taxes for 2010 and demanding a check by the end of the month! They seemed pretty sure of themselves, too. About $6,500 of it was interest and penalties for not paying taxes we didn't know we owed. "Okay, don't panic. Just look at their reasoning. ... Here it is. Must be a mistake. ... Looking ... looking ... looking ... everything looks in order. Looking ... sweating ... trembling ... panicking!!! "CALL THE ACCOUNTANT!", the one remaining composed brain cell in my head shouted to me. So I did, after business hours, but he answered. He didn't say, "Don't you know it's tax season?" He said, "That's very interesting. I'd like to see that." Not a trace of panic in his voice. Long story short: Rather than trust these documents to the mail or to any other delivery service, the next morning I drove them to the accountant's door and put them under his nose. He was ready and had printed out all our 2010 tax documents. He smiled, looked at the paperwork, started making comparisons and almost immediately found that a statement from one of my wife's many employers (she's self-employed) showed her income from them to be $600.00 for the year. The IRS had it at $60,000! ... EGADS! GAD-ZOOKS! OOF! ... "For want of a decimal point changed to a comma and moved one space ... !!!" Okay, sleep and sanity restored. Lesson #1 - The IRS (and other authorities) are not always right. Lesson #2 - Before you panic, or worse, write a check, call an expert! Adieu.

[DeParkiePoet]

Thanks OM I expect aletter fromthem soon, ha ha hah!

Good story!

[CheriH]

Whew, I was trembling....sweating....panicking for you while reading this! So happy that it worked out in your favor. You took one for the team!

Cheri

[Hidden]

Bet that made you feel like your meds weren't working!

[wifeofparky]

Glad you have a good accountant who would stand behind you in an audit. We do the same. It is worth the price to me to know I don't have to answer their questions alone. Never had a problem so far and hope to never have one.