I got a letter from the IRS! HELP!!!?

Question

My ex husband and I had to file our taxes together for the 2005 year, I didn't turn in my W2's and now the IRS sent me a letter with both our names addressed on it. We filed taxes last year using only his W2. Who are they going after for the money? I don't have the money now to even make payments to them and I want to know can I just not respond and just wait this out till this years taxes and let them seize my check? Help my deadline date is Nov. 21.

Answer 1

They will try to "go after" both of you if you filed a joint return. Not responding is not the best course of action.

They should have sent you information in the notice that discussed payment plans. You can set up a payment plan for the amount due; it can be either an amount you send each month, or they can withhold it from your paycheck.

If you're expecting a refund for this year's taxes, you can tell them that. Again, the best course is to talk to them or write them explaining the situation.

See the link below for information on requesting an installment agreement

Answer 2

No, don't wait. That is the worst thing you can do. The IRS is ruthless if you are uncooperative. I suggest you ammend your 2005 return to include your W-2's. If there were taxes taken out of your paycheck, you were probably due a refund. As it is now that you filed fraudulently, you will have to pay much more in penalties and possibly interest.

I suggest you get a tax lawyer quickly. You don't want to make this situation any worse than it already is. If there is Legal Aid in your area, they can represent you for free.

And if you do owe money, you should pay what you can even if that is only $10 a month. At least make an effort. If you just ignore them, they can and will take most if not all of your paycheck as well as any assets that you might have.

And they will come after you. Your ex-husband will be able to avoid most of the problems if he hires a lawyer.

Answer 3

From what you have indicated you have likely received an IRS CP2000 letter for under-reporting of income. If that is for a year in which you filed jointly with your husband your are both responsible. The IRS can and will take the money from whom ever they can get it. If the letter correctly identified under-reporting of income you both must sign the acknowledgment withing the CP2000 form and send it back to them. You should send the amount indicated or request a payment arrangement. If you do nothing they will send you an assessment letter 30 days after the due date on the CP2000. From that point the collection efforts and the interest will increase. It is true that doing nothing may just cause them to take the money from your future refunds and or that of your former husband. By the time that happens you will also have accumulated approximately 25% interest on the original amount due. If the correction on the CP2000 properly identifies the tax due you need not file an amendment (1040X ) just sign the ackknowledgement and return it the IRS will take care of it. You may wish to file a State amendment to avoid any penalty.

Answer 4

You will be receiving a letter with an explanation of why your refund was held up. Chances are, it has something to do with social security numbers for dependents, the earned income credit, or some other credit you took on your return that the IRS is questioning. Don't worry-the letter will be coming shortly. In the meantime, don't sweat it because there isn't much you can do about it until you know what the IRS issue is.

Answer 5

Do not ignore the IRS letter. Prepare an amended return and see how much taxes you owe. It may not be a big amount as from W2 income taxes are withheld by the employer. May be you will not owe anything.
If you don't respond, IRS will send you a bill. You also lose many of your rights.
On the due amount you will be paying interest and penalty. And it is in your interest that you pay the amount as the amount will keep on multiplying.
If you can't pay the amount now, you have some options.

Answer 6

If you file jointly, you are individually liable for all tax due. This is why anyone who suspects their spouse of cheating the IRS should file separately. No one is required to file jointly, so your comment "My ex husband and I had to file our taxes together" is wrong.

You can give your employer a new W-4 now to reduce your withholding and get more in each your paycheck. This will allow you to make payments to the IRS.

You could also try responding before the deadline in a way that stalls things. Do not ignore any letters from the IRS or miss the deadlines that they give.

Answer 7

Contact them at least. You and your husband are both responsible for the additional tax owed on a joint return.

My advice is to file your 2007 tax return as early as possible and let the refund reduce the amount you owe for 2006. If this will not satisfy the balance due, then you need to get an installment agreement with the IRS so that you can schedule repayments.

Answer 8

Definitely respond by Nov 21, even if you don't have it resolved by then. You and your ex need to show the letter to someone who understands tax law and "IRS speek". Filing a 1040 X to amend past returns would have been the right thing to do before you received the letter, but probably not now. Frequently the letter says something like "We have recalculated your tax based upon ------, and you owe us X." They ask you to agree, or disagree and tell them why you disagree.

Answer 9

You just need to file an amended return. If you had a tax preparer prepare your returns... You just need to take your w-2's to him and let him now that he needs to file an amended return. Since there probably were taxes withheld on your W-2's, your probably won't owe very much, and you may even get a refund. Of course, this affects your ex-husband too, and he will need to sign the amended return also.

It's a simple mistake. The IRS rejected it because it doesn't match their records. They get copies of your w-2's also.

Answer 10

If you ignore them, they can seize your bank accounts and house. If you don't have any, then you may be able to get away with it. The easiest thing is to just provide the W-2s. If you need to amend your 2006 tax return to include your income, get the 1040X form at any IRS office or online.

If you deliberately tried to hide income by not including your W-2, that was a dumb idea, since a copy of the W-2 goes directly to the IRS and your state DOR if the state has an income tax.