*sigh* I really, really hate dealing with the IRS.
In 2009, I bought a house. Now, I've been renting since 2001, so I definitely qualify for the first-time home-buyer's tax credit. To get that, you have to paper-file, and include a copy of hte settlement document. I did all that, and overnighted my return to them on Jan 25, to make up for the fact that paper-filing takes longer.
Each week, I went to IRS.gov and checked "Where's my refund," and each week, I got a response of "We have not received your return" even though it was signed for on Jan 26. Finally, on Feb 20, they admitted they had my return and were processing it. If they found no problems, I could expect my refund by March 30. On March 15, they said I could expect my refund on April 13. On March 30, they said I could expect my refund on April 27.
April 2 was my payday from work. I checked my bank balance online, and it was higher than it should have been from receiving my paycheck. So I looked at the detail, and there was a deposit from the IRS, but it was NOT for the full amount of my refund. So I head back out to IRS.gov and "where's my refund," and read "We decreased the amount of your refund. You will receive a letter dated April 12 explaining why." Great. I didn't need a letter from them - the refund was exactly $8000 less than I expected, but I had to wait until I received a letter dated April 12 before I could call and ask them why they don't think I qualify for the home-buyer's tax credit.
The letter came in yesterday's mail. It tells me they think I have a prior home-ownership that would make me ineligible, and gives me a number to call.
So I call them, and spend 5 minutes on hold after telling the computer all my business so it knows I'm real. The nice lady on the other end of the phone explains that she can't help me - she has to transfer me to tax law. Back on hold, with an estimated wait time of over 30 minutes. I hang up, figuring I'll try again at 8am, when they won't be so busy.
Call back this morning, expecting that the computer is routing me to the correct person to help with my issue. Lady answers the phone, and the conversation goes like this:
In 2009, I bought a house. Now, I've been renting since 2001, so I definitely qualify for the first-time home-buyer's tax credit. To get that, you have to paper-file, and include a copy of hte settlement document. I did all that, and overnighted my return to them on Jan 25, to make up for the fact that paper-filing takes longer.
Each week, I went to IRS.gov and checked "Where's my refund," and each week, I got a response of "We have not received your return" even though it was signed for on Jan 26. Finally, on Feb 20, they admitted they had my return and were processing it. If they found no problems, I could expect my refund by March 30. On March 15, they said I could expect my refund on April 13. On March 30, they said I could expect my refund on April 27.
April 2 was my payday from work. I checked my bank balance online, and it was higher than it should have been from receiving my paycheck. So I looked at the detail, and there was a deposit from the IRS, but it was NOT for the full amount of my refund. So I head back out to IRS.gov and "where's my refund," and read "We decreased the amount of your refund. You will receive a letter dated April 12 explaining why." Great. I didn't need a letter from them - the refund was exactly $8000 less than I expected, but I had to wait until I received a letter dated April 12 before I could call and ask them why they don't think I qualify for the home-buyer's tax credit.
The letter came in yesterday's mail. It tells me they think I have a prior home-ownership that would make me ineligible, and gives me a number to call.
So I call them, and spend 5 minutes on hold after telling the computer all my business so it knows I'm real. The nice lady on the other end of the phone explains that she can't help me - she has to transfer me to tax law. Back on hold, with an estimated wait time of over 30 minutes. I hang up, figuring I'll try again at 8am, when they won't be so busy.
Call back this morning, expecting that the computer is routing me to the correct person to help with my issue. Lady answers the phone, and the conversation goes like this:
IRS: Can I help you?
Me: Yes, I need to have someone explain why they disallowed my homebuyer's tax credit.
IRS: Did you get a letter from us?
Me: Yes.
IRS: Can you read me the letter?
Me: Reads the first 2 paragraphs of the letter.
IRS: There's your answer right there. If you can't understand that, I don't know how we can make it any clearer.
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