This is the very, very, very abridged version of events. I’m just so relieved this is finally over and wanted to share.

- 2020 I get a letter saying I owe $XX,XXX in back taxes from 2017. I’ve never even made that much in a year before so no way I owe that much. It must be a mistake. I spend dozens of hours on hold and on calls with the IRS to find out the issue. During this time I also get seize property letter. They quite literally have made a couple typos: a couple duplicate entries and one with an extra digit. (Ex: $355,000 instead of $35,000) I naively think it should be an easy fix.

- they only communicate by fax so I send all the info they requested. Letters from payers, explanation of the error, etc. They confirm receipt, but say they need more time. Throughout this process it takes 6-18months between communications.

- eventually IRS says what I/payers claim doesn’t match their records. I go in person to the IRS office and even they are stumped. The actual IRS office said I could try a “Hail Mary” (their exact words) and have the payer submit a corrected return. The issue: that would be lying to the IRS because there was no incorrect info sent to the IRS. Payer was not willing to lie to the IRS.

- I called soooo many tax people and they were all stumped and had never heard of such a thing. The tax settlement lawyers are scammy, plus I don’t actually owe this amount so I don’t need a settlement. One tax person suggested contacting my congressperson as part of their job is to help constituents when they hit roadblocks in normal government processes. They took on my case and worked on it for over a year with a frustrating circle of “we have record of X” without ever showing proof beyond their own account print out and us submitting our proof of what was actually submitted.

- eventually I learned about a free tax clinic at the local university. They worked on the case for over a year including me filling out so many forms and requesting reviews (don’t recall the exact terms for all these steps) and finally discovered the IRS had sent some notice to an address I didn’t live at anymore (despite updating my address) and since I never received it I’d apparently missed the chance to contest the amount. WTF?!?!

- because if that missed deadline on a form I never received, I first had to either get on a payment plan for the bogus debt or be declared unable to collect due to income.

- oh, and all this time the IRS has been keeping my tax returns to put toward the bogus debt

- around this time the first round of appeals was denied in writing which was the complete opposite of what the account manager had told my lawyers. While I was filling out the extensive financial documents my file got to some higher level IRS person who finally realized how stupid this all was and said give them 60 days to fix it.

- typically claims for refunds can only go back 3 years, but the lawyers fought for all the tax returns.

- 2.5 months later I got a fat check for all the tax returns they’d been keeping over the years plus interest. Today, I got the letter from the IRS correcting the mistake and giving a rundown of the refunds.

This chapter is finally over. Phew.

Hello, I am very worried and any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am an international research scholar from the UK here on a J-1 visa. I started a position here in April 2025, and my taxes were filed in March by the University I'm working at for the 2025 year. As in, because I am international and have little knowledge of tax laws, they have a dedicated group of volunteers who come in and help all the internationals file their taxes each year. We just go along for an hour or two and give all our information and they work through it.

I've just received a letter (actually, it was sent on Oct 1st and I only just checked our joint mailbox - it's hard to open at our apartment complex) from the IRS saying that I have submitted a frivolous tax return. I have 30 days from then (so less than a week now) so submit a corrected tax return. I obviously didn't intend to do anything wrong.

One thing that I believe may have caused this was that I was told during my tax-filing appointment that because I am an international, the UK (where I'm from) and the USA have an agreement whereby anyone here for less than 2 years is exempt from paying taxes. I'm guessing it's just not worth their while to process it all for someone only here temporarily? Anyway, my position is actually likely to extend beyond 2 years, but I was given the option to either pay the tax each year, and if I'm here <2 years, I guess they will pay it back to me when I leave. OR, I can not pay any tax now, and if I stay beyond the 2 years, I must pay it ALL back in a lumpsum during my third year. I chose the latter: to not pay any tax now, and thought I will pay it later, if I stay beyond 2 years. Now I'm concerned this is the cause of me receiving this letter.

ANY advice would be VERY appreciated! Thank you.

I had to call TAS and file 911 form. Then I contacted my local congressman office.

Took TAS and local gov 28 days to finally tell me that u have an agent assigned to my case and look into my refund. My contact date is 10/29. Idk what to expect but no changes in code I just hope this doesnt cause further delays.

Any tips or suggestions for my “contact date” lol thanks all. Hope we all get our refund soon

So I amended my 2022 return March of 2024. Was told I would have my refund by November. Kept getting told to wait 60-90 days. Got a tax advocate and same thing. Reached out to congressman’s office in May of 2025 they have been working with me since then. I have been told this refund was going to be released atleast 3x had the 290 code with 0s 2 or 3 seperate times. It’s been reviewed by so many different departments. I read on here about a week ago that a refund was stuck in a loop and basically the same thing happening it was set to be released and something happened on the back end. I cannot find that post anymore and was hoping someone could help either find the post or if the person who posted post again so I can screen shot it and send to my congressman’s office. It’s been almost 18 months with the congressman’s office and I don’t know where to go from here.

I just received a notice that my refund amount has been reduced. I can't look at my full return right now because freefillableforms is no longer open but when I'm looking at this it doesn't look right to me. It originally said my expected return was $760 and now it has gone down to $127 and I don't understand why? Also I applied for an extension this year and last year, which is why my return is being processed now but I did not receive notice that I am being charged fees for that either year. I am also a college student, I don't know if that would impact it too.

I’m 22 years old. I have three years of tax preparation experience involving forms 1040, 1120(s), 1120, 1065, 1041, 990, and 709. I also hold an active EA credential while performing tax resolution work outside of tax season. I did leave the private sector after the most recent tax season, and I currently work for the State Of Florida as a tax auditor.

Is there a path to becoming an IRS Tax Compliance Auditor that I’m not aware of? As an Auditor with the State, I’m in the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and I Audit companies to make sure that they are in compliance with the regulations pertaining to their licenses.

For the year 2025, I had a company that I worked for a few times who sent out a 1099 with the wrong last name on it. I told her to send one with correct name and she she did BUT, didn't check the " correct " box, when I told her that now I have 2 1099s for double the amount under my SS#, she sent another with $0 but it was for the one with my correct last name, so basically we have one out there for $800 under the wrong name, but right SS #

I filed back in March but now Im seeing that I am getting a letter from the IRS via the USPS, but that was on Wedsneday and it hasn't shown up yet, so would that be some kind of letter regarding this 1099 MESS? and how does it get corrected? And should I call the IRS Monday if the letter doesnt show up to see what its for??

PS my CPA said not to send a 4th letter as it could mix it up more and that since she sent it, she may get a letter too- just want to get some insight because I dont even know what the letter is about and of course Im nervous

TIA

I did a 23-25 returns and on 2025 I added the 9465 and it was supposed to be one payment for all the years and I’m afraid it’s only covering 2025. The returns were mailed in separate envelopes

How should I make sure it covers all the years.

Account Tax Record shows this for all yearly summaries but acct transcripts are available ? Is system down?

I am losing my mind trying to deal with the IRS online account portal right now and I am really hoping someone here has run into this or knows how to fix it.

I am trying to pull my records for 2022, specifically looking for my 2022 account transcript and my 2022 verification of non-filing letter. But every other day for the past months, the page just completely blocks me. Under the account transcripts section, it permanently gives me an error saying they were unable to load my 2022 transcript. And when I try to open the 2022 verification of non-filing letter, it doesn't even download a PDF. Instead, my browser intercepts it and throws up a raw XML text tree error page saying the file doesn't have any style information.

I have tried everything I can think of like clearing my cache, changing browsers, opening private windows, and even trying to force rename downloaded files, but nothing works. It seriously feels like the 2022 digital data record is completely broken or missing on their back end.

If anyone has experienced this specific XML error loop or persistent loading error for an older year on the IRS portal, did it ever fix itself, or is that file just dead in their system? If the online portal is completely bugged out like this, what is the fastest way to get a physical or digital copy of a 2022 non-filing letter without waiting months? Is it possible the IRS system just genuinely does not have a clean record of it, which is why it keeps erroring out, or is their web infrastructure just this terrible?

How much do you think you’ll get back for tax refunds for 2026? How much do you usually get back?

Hi all,

I am looking into applying for innocent spouse relief for a few years. Long story short, my husband and I own businesses, he repeatedly told me our taxes were filed for years. Once I started the divorce process I found out some of the business taxes were filed (albeit, inaccurately) and only extensions were filed for personal taxes. I have been working to get them amended and filed since I found out. I am fearful we may owe a significant amount to the IRS. My husband has a background in tax/finances and was solely responsible for our finances and worked for our businesses. He did not give me access to accounts. He would reassure me there was nothing to worry about when I asked questions and tell me I was 'overreacting' repeatedly.

Now, I am planning to file after my divorce is finalized. Should I hire an attorney to help me with this or file myself? It seems somewhat straightforward, but I am not sure how to proceed.