Did you dutifully mail your payment to the IRS and then receive a scary notice from them saying you owe them more money and it now includes interest and penalties?
Next you check your bank account and notice the check hasn’t cleared?
Should you cancel the check? Send another check?
You try and call the IRS but you can’t get through…
Now you don’t know what to do and are stressed about owing MORE money!
You are not alone.
As you may know the IRS was on furlough for MANY months. During that time no one opened the mail and thus your check is sitting in a giant warehouse somewhere waiting to be opened. Despite the fact that millions of checks were sitting in a warehouse the IRS decided to send balance due notices to anyone whose check hadn’t been cashed yet.
Finally after an outcry from taxpayers, tax preparers, and Congress the IRS has finally decided to suspend the mailing of balance due letters until they can catch up.
What this means to you?
- Do NOT put a stop payment on the original check. The IRS will eventually get to it and will eventually cash it.
- Do not call the IRS – the agent who answers will not have any idea where you check is.
- Do not write a letter – they are already overwhelmed with unopened mail. Sending another letter to tell them to open the first letter won’t be helpful.
- Please be patient. The IRS has been underfunded for years so they are doing the best they can with the limited resources that they have.
- In the future.. be sure you mail payments with a mailing receipt so you have proof of mailing OR pay online so you get an automatic acknowledgement of payment.