In what has now become an expected routine, the IRS has responded to my failure to include a check with my last tax return by sending me one of their “Notice of intent to seize (‘levy’) your state tax refund [I should be so lucky] or other property.” With $59.32 in penalties and $16.60 in interest, the grand total for is a little north of $6,000.
This came along with some explanations of how they calculate penalties & interest, some pleas to pay up, and a couple of additional inserts: “Notice of Potential Third Party Contact” — which is as far as I can tell mostly designed to try to intimidate you into paying by suggesting that the IRS will send agents around to “your neighbor, bank, employer, or employees” to spread the word that you’re behind on your taxes — and “The IRS Collection Process (Publication 594).”
Luckily for me, “IRS audits and other key enforcement programs ‘will operate well below historical levels’ , the federal tax agency’s chief told Congress .”
IRS estimates show “the government will lose almost $3 billion as a result.”
