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James Howarth is a little confused by two letters he has received from the Internal Revenue Service.
The Detroit defense lawyer received one letter in November that said he owed the IRS money – five cents.
He was warned that he should pay “to avoid additional penalty and/or interest,” the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday.
Howarth says he then received a second letter telling him the government owes him money – four cents.
He was told he would have to request the refund since it’s less than $1.
“When I owe them a nickel, I must pay them. It’s not optional,” he said. “But when they owe me, I have to ask for it.”
I’d be curious to know how much it cost to mail out those two letters.
This is not the first time. Humor author Dave Barry detailed another case like this in his 1996 book “Dave Barry in Cyberspace”.
I was also under the impression the IRS rounds things to the nearest dollar. Then again, maybe its one of those infamous computer errors.
I once got a bill from the DMV for $0.00. I sent them a check, and it worked itself out (no kidding).
A few years back I received a letter from the IRS stating that they had recalculated my taxes and found that I had overpaid by $150. I gladly took the enclosed check and cashed it.
Three months later I received a letter from the IRS stating that they had recalculated my taxes and found that I had underpaid my taxes by the same $150, and now with interest I owed them $160. What could I do? I sent them a check for $160.
They made the mistake and I paid $10 in interest for it.
The IRS is the tool that Barry Obama intends to punish us with. Repeal the 16th amendment and institute the FAIR TAX!
#4 – hypersoar – ECA posted a true hilarious story about this same thing on Cage Match in October 2008.
The posted link is a dead end. Try this one.
I like the “bail out” road he is considering. That’s funny.
know where i can get one of those t-shirts!
Reading that was painful. I hate seeing wasted resources like this. Stupid IRS.
#5 – You got screwed. How you had no recourse surprises me. Pay back the $150, but the interest? WTF!
Just like the time I had moved and got a final gas bill forwarded to me at my new address. I owed $0.11, and it cost them about a dollar to mail it to me. I sent a 29 cent letter telling them that, but all I got in response was a threat to take my 11 cent bill to a collection agency. I sent ’em an 85 cent money order for $0.11 just to get them off my back.
The computer accounts apparently must be balanced come hell or high water, logic be damned.
I’ve got all these stories beat. A few years back I got a letter from the IRS stating I overpaid my Federal taxes by $75. Because I had overpaid, I was penalized $75. So not only did they kept the overpayment, they charged me again for it.
The best defense against the IRS is to find a lawyer who was a top dog attorney for… the IRS.
Seems some of these guys rejoice in nailing their former employer who tried to stick it to them some way or another.
“I don’t think the danger is from Obama or his cabinet but, from the Dem Congress which is the most unpopular in history…”
Puh-leez. Neocons are like the captian of the Titanic handing you his hat and saying, “Well, I gotcha this far. You can take her in.”
I think some of these stories, including the $0.05 are bullshit.
George, if the IRS erred they would not charge you interest.
Kevlar, the IRS does not charge $75 if you make an overpayment. They refund it.
This case, the IRS does not charge or refund less than $1.00. This is a Detroit lawyer trying to get his name in the news so he can look important. From what I’ve read, no one else claims to have seen either letter.
But it is always better to bash the IRS. Yup, everyone hates the IRS.