Hey Dave,
I received a phone call from IRS telling me that I owe them $2,500. They said they sent me a letter in January of 2014 that I signed for telling me the errors, and since I did not respond to it they are suing me for the money. I never received a letter, nor did I ever sign for one. They said I need to pay them $850 for the next 3 months, and I need to come to the IRS office to straighten this out. They will not tell me what the errors are, nor will they tell me what the letter said, only that I need to come to their office and pay them the money. They will not send me a copy of the letter either. This is for taxes 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. They said I need to get them a pre-paid visa card for $500 and then call them back to schedule an appointment to come to the office to pay. They will then schedule a payment arrangement of $200 for the next 10 months after I pay them the $500. Is this the way to handle this and what do I do?
Patricia
Patricia,
This is likely to be one of the telephone scams that the IRS has been warning us about for several months. Unfortunately, these are very common. Most importantly, reveal no personal information to anyone who calls you, such as your Social Security number, etc. We suggest first that you call the IRS and ask them to verify your account information for the years in question. Alternatively, you can go to the IRS website and download your own account transcripts in order to find out if owe them anything or not. The IRS telephone number is 800-829-1040. To obtain account transcripts go to here.
If it turns out you do not owe the IRS anything, we suggest you follow the steps outlined in this identity protection information. If you feel your social security number was compromised you may wish to contact your financial institutions and your local authorities. If you do owe the IRS money, make arrangements to pay your bill by contacting them directly at the number I’ve provided and have no further communication with the individuals who have been contacting you by phone.
Deductibly yours,
Dave