Well that was a shocker...

So, my hubs and I have been working through for the last six months how to get that  IRS Home Buyers tax credit for our home purchase in 2009-we had some hang ups because we did a private mortgage without a HUD-1A form filed. So we had to work that out with them.

At any rate, they didn't allow me to claim my daughter for 2009 because I typo-ed her Social Security Number. They wouldn't let me claim her tuition credit even though I filled out the form I needed from the Form 1040 instructions. I had to amend our return which now takes like four months to resolve. In addition to this we have had to amend our 2007 and 2006 tax returns to claim some income we received but did not receive records for - which is an additional part of the hold up.

What it comes down to is this... Every four weeks or so I check online to see what the status of our refund may be. Last night - in my winter weather boredom - I did just that. Logged into the IRS "Where's My Refund?" Link with the required information and found to my horror that it said they had adjusted our tax return and now we OWED the FULL AMOUNT of our expected REFUND.

With my heart racing, I hastily dialed in the numbers that appeared on the online notice and dug out my file of tax papers, including the letters from the IRS regarding our "REFUND DUE."

I started to explain the problem and provided the needed information to identify our return. I learned several things:

1. The lady on the phone as well as the IRS website reported we "OWED" that amount.

2. That my heart can race faster than it had when I dialed the phone. I mean it is a large chunk of change and we were expecting a refund. She put me on hold.

3. She came back and said, "Wait. Ma'am. I misread the information - it says you have a refund due [in the amount my records indicate] and they are still working on it. If you sent in the needed forms you should have an answer in 12-16 weeks. The refund has not been sent."

4. WHEW! I laughed out loud. My heart began to return to normal and I realized that if we wait much longer we might just get a larger refund. They have already increased it by $800 from the amount we originally expected in the few months we've been waiting.

The down side: I have to claim $10.72 in interest earned on my 2010 taxes. Small price to pay.

Could God be in cahoots with the IRS?

Things that make you go HMMMM!