Appeal State $200 Late filing penalty?

Finance
21

good point re: “released” for payment. The CSR did say refund was frozen since return was filed a day late 10/16!

I had mailed it on 10/12 and it was recieved on 10/15 at IRS POB. She had me give her the tracking # and said to follow up in 30 days. I will follow up on both around xmas so hopefully it’s released by then and they’re not draconian on the mail/ receipt date vs filing date for day late

I wish the IRS would just accept PY returns online to avoid this, but no more extension filing for me given this debacle.

22

It will be 30 days on 12/25 since I called and received the referral above. Still frozen, I will call them again on xmas eve . Any suggestions when I call about the mail/ receipt date vs filing date for day late issue.

23

Yes, don’t call, send a letter. Ask for first time abatement if you really want to use that on an $80 penalty, but up to you.

I don’t understand how being a day late on filing a return requesting a refund is relevant, especially since we’re presumably talking about a refund that has been frozen for over a year now, unless I’m misunderstanding the facts. Pull your account transcript and see what the code is. This is why you need to write a letter (or two for separate issues) instead of calling.

2 Likes
24

Yes, It’s two separate issues. The penalty was for 2018. The refund for 2015. I mailed both returns 10/12/19

I’m now willing to let the $80 penalty go since it’s one time and just focus on the 2015 refund.

I did get a letter back from the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service? Surprised the phone people referred it to them?? They did help with the addresses I need to write to. No more calls!

I’m writing about your referral made on December 18, 2019. I’ve looked at the information
about the refund for the tax year mentioned above a~d ~ave determined that the case does
not meet the Taxpayer Advocate Criteria (TAS) at this time.

What we have done
I have verified the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records, and it looks like the case is still
open regarding the refund hold. Since you indicated you can provide proof of timely filing,
-and you have additional documentation available, the next step would be to mail…copy of
your documentation of filing directly to the service ·

Internal revenue Service
5045 East Butler Avenue,
Fresno, CA, 93727
Usually, once your correspondence is sent, a.response generally takes around 30 days. ,
What is the next step?
you can cortact the
IRS at 1-800-829-1040 Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. It you
have a financial or urgent hardship you can contact the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA)
at 1-877-777-4778 Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
I apologize for any inconvenience this refund delay may have caused.

Bilingual Intake Advocate
Taxpayer Advocate Service
P.O. Box 11996
San Juan, PR 00922-1996

Sr. Gilberto Cortes - Numero de Empleado 1003228573
Horario 7:00 a.m. - 3:3o p.m . (AST) Lunes a Viernes
Linea de! NTA 1-877-777-4778
Fax: 787-522-869

25

Internal Revenue Service
5045 East Butler Avenue,
Fresno, CA, 93727

This is regarding our 2015 refund hold. We called on 11/25 and were asked to provide proof of timely filing,

I have attached the tracking # to show that the return was delivered to the IRS at October 15, 2019, 9:05 am

Tracking # screenshot

October 15, 2019, 9:05 am
Delivered
FRESNO, CA 93888
Your item was delivered at 9:05 am on October 15, 2019 in FRESNO, CA 93888.

October 13, 2019, 10:05 pm
Arrived at Hub
FRESNO, CA 93888

October 13, 2019, 10:05 pm
Departed USPS Regional Destination Facility
FRESNO CA DISTRIBUTION CENTER

October 13, 2019, 3:30 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
FRESNO CA DISTRIBUTION CENTER

October 13, 2019, 3:50 am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
PHOENIX AZ DISTRIBUTION CENTER ANNEX

October 12, 2019, 8:58 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
PHOENIX AZ DISTRIBUTION CENTER ANNEX

26

Here’s the codes online RETURN DUE DATE OR RETURN RECEIVED DATE (WHICHEVER IS LATER) Oct. 16, 2019
PROCESSING DATE Dec. 09, 2019

TRANSACTIONS
CODE EXPLANATION OF TRANSACTION CYCLE DATE AMOUNT
150 Tax return filed 12-09-2019 $1,292.00

806 W-2 or 1099 withholding 04-15-2016
670 Payment 02-13-2016 -$1,000.00 (was a FWF CC payment deal)
460 Extension of time to file tax return 04-15-2016 $0.00
ext. Date 10-15-2016

Tax Period Ending: Dec. 31, 2015
The following

27

Oh, well this is making more sense now. It looks like the return wasn’t processed until December 9, which is less than a month ago. That’s most likely the reason why your refund hasn’t been sent to you yet.

I’m not too familiar with IRS refund claims, but they have a certain amount of time to respond, and I doubt that is less than 2 months (Oct 15 - Dec 15). It’s possible this is just a normal processing time for a return that’s 3 years late. It’s also possible that it was sent to a separate group that handles SOL issues to review prior to the issuance of a refund.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the received date on the transcript right now. It’s not uncommon for transcripts for paper filed returns to show a date later than the actual received date per USPS.

1 Like
28

Thanks. Will wait a few more weeks. What’s SOL issues?

The only caveat is that the phone CSR and the TPA letter did say refund hold due to being a day late so I should send proof. All this started b/c I thought this refund would be considered credit for 2018 and not have to pay penalty.

I have the tracking info letter ready to go if I don’t get 2015 refund soon (online says 6 weeks for paper filing) Don’t want to stick a sleeping bear if not necessary though.

29

SOL is statute of limitations. There is a specialized group within the IRS that deals with statutes of limitations questions (internally, not public facing).

If there is a freeze on the refund, there should be some code associated with the freeze.

The IRS can’t just move liabilities and credits between years. If the liability year isn’t in collections yet (or even if it is), there’s a process they have to go through. The refund has to be held, which is not always done, because in order to offset it the liability year there is a minimum amount of time that must pass after assessment. You should hire someone to assist you in determining what your next steps should be because penalties and interest are likely still accruing on the 2018 liability.

1 Like
30

I paid the 2018 liability (in full) b/c of ticking clock. Still waiting to get 2015 back though :frowning:

I think I’ll just send them the proof of mailing per the TPA letter above. Just to confirm, filing date=postmark date right? (in my case it was even received by 10/15/19 (which is SOL)

Apparently it’s been addressed before:

I will focus on the received by 10/15/19 (at the IRS POB as seen above) in my letter. I haven’t heard back so I will mail the letter proactively

Never wait till last minute again

31

Haven’t heard anything yet, so I’m sending a letter with 10/15 receipt return tracking.

1 Like
32

No reply to my letter yet, but I dread calling them again given the call wait and CSRs don’t seem to be able to do anything

Part of me thinks I should claim the refund somehow as a tax payment credit and take my chances. The IRS would do that if I owed them

1 Like
33

Saga continues. Got a letter saying they need 60 more days to work on my account ! No more info. needed.

Hope this means good news in 60 days.

1 Like
34

It’s been 90+days now (I understand Covid) Does anyone have a IRS Fax #? There was only a phone# and I’m not getting anywhere with CSRs :frowning:

36

Bummer looks like mail it is. Someone mentioned they have a special # for pros? My sister is a CPA maybe I’ll have her call?

39

finally !

RETURN DUE DATE OR RETURN RECEIVED DATE (WHICHEVER IS LATER) Oct. 16, 2019
PROCESSING DATE Dec. 09, 2019
TRANSACTIONS
CODE EXPLANATION OF TRANSACTION CYCLE DATE AMOUNT

806 W-2 or 1099 withholding 04-15-2016 -$4,995.00
670 Payment 02-13-2016 -$1,000.00
460 Extension of time to file tax return 04-15-2016 $0.00
ext. Date 10-15-2016
560 IRS can assess tax until 10-01-2020 $0.00??
846 Refund issued 10-19-2020 $4,911.95
776 Interest credited to your account 10-26-2020 -$208.95

https://taxhelpsoftware.com/irs-transaction-codes/

Looks like I’ll get $200 interest on the refund too! Is this standard % amount?