Missing Tax payment question/ opinion

[old medic]

I understand that due to COVID and mailing issues theres a huge IRS backlog... We had our taxes done and check mailed 5 weeks ago that has not cleared the bank yet... I'm on the verge of cancelling the check and set up an online payment...

What yall think?

 

[JRon]

I will have to say that our mailed check was cashed in about 1 week - we sent in April 15 or so. On the other hand it wouldn’t surprise me if yours is sitting on someone’s to-do pile.

 

[RockyMtn]

They are way backed up. I sent in an amended return for 2019 in September of 2020 and as of last week they said (I actually talked to someone at IRS) that is still had not been processed. They blame the pandemic and all the stimulus checks they had to process for the backlog.

E Filing still seems to work relatively quickly though.

 

[Fermion]

If the government is being extra slow with your refund from last year, can you be slow with sending in an estimated tax payment for this year? Asking for a friend.

 

[cathy63]

I understand that due to COVID and mailing issues theres a huge IRS backlog... We had our taxes done and check mailed 5 weeks ago that has not cleared the bank yet... I'm on the verge of cancelling the check and set up an online payment...

What yall think?

If you sent it to the correct address, then the check should have cleared by now. Mail that has money in it gets opened first, and payments are processed before the return is even looked at. There's a backlog for opening paper returns that are claiming refunds, and for processing all paper returns, but the cashing of checks should not be affected.

If it's not a large amount, then I think the best thing to do is make an online payment for the same amount but don't put a stop on the check. If they do get the check and payment is refused becase you put a stop on it, that may cause problems if they haven't yet processed the paper return. They'd have no way to know whether your account is current or not, only that they got a bad check. If they do end up receiving two payments, they will eventually refund the overage, but it may take quite a while.

If the check never arrived, then it's likely that the return did not arrive either. You should create an account at irs.gov and check the status occasionally. You might want to refile the return if it hasn't been received and processed by the end of the year. There's no penalty for late filing as long as the tax due has been paid on time, which it will have been if you submit an electronic payment now.

 

[RE2Boys]

I understand that due to COVID and mailing issues theres a huge IRS backlog... We had our taxes done and check mailed 5 weeks ago that has not cleared the bank yet... I'm on the verge of cancelling the check and set up an online payment...

What yall think?

I'd sit tight for another two months. I very much doubt that amended returns have any priority since we are still in the regular tax season. Last year my sister had to amend her return and it took the IRS four months to cash the check and they still have not processed her amended return, it is now 10 months.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I understand that due to COVID and mailing issues theres a huge IRS backlog... We had our taxes done and check mailed 5 weeks ago that has not cleared the bank yet... I'm on the verge of cancelling the check and set up an online payment...

What yall think?

I certainly wouldn't stop payment on the check. IF the IRS does eventually try to cash it, then that will be a headache. If you wish to make another payment, go ahead. They will eventually figure things out.

Personally, things are so screwed up, I would wait it out for as long as it takes.

Create an account at IRS.gov and follow things there. I check my Mom's account every week to see what has changed. Her return has been missing-in-action since February.

 

[old medic]

Our tax return was E-filed by our bank, got our state refund and later mailed the check with the coupon from the bank. When I asked them they said cancel and send another check.

 

[ivinsfan]

Our tax return was E-filed by our bank, got our state refund and later mailed the check with the coupon from the bank. When I asked them they said cancel and send another check.

Who is them? You aren't actually to the due date of your return yet. May 17 Id wait until the 16th ..

 

[pb4uski]

They are way backed up. I sent in an amended return for 2019 in September of 2020 and as of last week they said (I actually talked to someone at IRS) that is still had not been processed. They blame the pandemic and all the stimulus checks they had to process for the backlog.

E Filing still seems to work relatively quickly though.

Yes, they had a question on DS' 2019 return and we responded in Oct 2020 and he didn't get his refund check until a month or so ago.

 

[ivinsfan]

Yes, they had a question on DS' 2019 return and we responded in Oct 2020 and he didn't get his refund check until a month or so ago.

OP are you sure you used the correct address including the right PO box number? There is a special number for taxes owed on current year returns.



I mailed paper last year and it cleared within a week. If you looked the address up online there is a chance the check is stuck in the backpile. Your bank might have printed the wrong coupon or an error was made when addressing the envelope.



Very little mail actually gets lost..I suspect its somewhere in the system. If you pay again either do it electronically or be darn certain you have the correct address and PO number..

 

[Original Wally]

There's no penalty for late filing as long as the tax due has been paid on time, which it will have been if you submit an electronic payment now.

There IS a penalty for Failure to File by the Due Date: Internal Revenue Code §6651(a)(1)


(retired CPA)

 

[ivinsfan]

There IS a penalty for Failure to File by the Due Date: Internal Revenue Code §6651(a)(1)


(retired CPA)

The OP filed electronically

 

[cathy63]

There IS a penalty for Failure to File by the Due Date: Internal Revenue Code §6651(a)(1)


(retired CPA)

Ok, I stand corrected, there is a penalty. A quick scan of the law seems to say that it would be the lesser of $435 or the amount of tax shown on the return minus the amount already paid. OP later clarified that he filed electronically, but even if he had filed on paper and the IRS never got it, if he now pays the amount due before the due date electronically, the penalty for non-filing should be $0, no?

 

[old medic]

To (hopefully) put and end to this story.... Check has still not cleared...
I have tried calling the IRS several times, after punching a dozen + transfer buttons, spending 30-45 minutes on the phone I get the we can't assist at this time due to high call volume.
Talked to a friend who works at HR Block and has done our taxes in the past, said shes had clients that have received fines for missing payments already sent and never cashed.
So yesterday we receive an IRS letter for lack of payment...
Bank says they cant help...
IRS says.... after tons of button pushing..."we can't assist at this time due to high call volume."
So I set up an IRS account, pay and cancel the check.
No fine listed, but the amount due was about $100 more...

 

[audreyh1]

What a pain!

I'm glad I stopped mailing a check to the IRS decades ago. We pay via eftps.gov.

 

[pb4uski]

OP are you sure you used the correct address including the right PO box number?...

Yes.

 

[ERD50]

To (hopefully) put and end to this story.... Check has still not cleared...
I have tried calling the IRS several times, after punching a dozen + transfer buttons, spending 30-45 minutes on the phone I get the we can't assist at this time due to high call volume. ...

I had to resolve a simple clerical error regarding my MIL and FIL's final estate tax filing (resulting in ~ $300 total that we paid, checks cleared, but not allocated to their accounts). I had the same problems trying to contact the IRS (which was sending us scary notices of placing liens on our home/accounts). I had the same scenario - on hold for hours, day after day, "please hold...." every 10 minutes or so, and then "call back later... CLICK!"

I finally got through by calling right before they opened in my time zone (it was a Friday, which might have helped also?). The agent confirmed that they start taking calls from the East coast, then in each time zone, so the earlier the better (wouldn't the agents be matched to the call volume? I guess not?). I was even considering getting a burner phone with an East coast area code just to get in earlier.

It might help.

-ERD50

 

[swakyaby]

What a pain!

I'm glad I stopped mailing a check to the IRS decades ago. We pay via eftps.gov.

I used to use eftps.gov for federal estimates taxes. Then last week, I went online to check payment history and didn’t see my estimated payment for last April even though it was debited from my checking account. Called eftps customer service (after a 55 minute wait) and was told my only recourse was for me to call the IRS and confirm whether my payment was received. Another 40 minute wait for the IRS, and they confirmed it was received.

It occurred to me that if the IRS did not receive the payment, I was looking forward to a lengthy dispute with eftps, since they are a third party. So now I pay electronic payments to IRS Direct and skip the middle man.