By: Karen Leavitt, CPA, CDFA
\nBronswick Reicin Pollack, Ltd.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy refund check arrived but it\u2019s smaller than what I thought it would be on my 1040. I\u2019m concerned there may be a discrepancy. Is there anything I can do to find out for certain? Or am I basically at the mercy of the IRS?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Just because it\u2019s the IRS doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t make mistakes now and then. So you absolutely have a right to discover why there\u2019s a difference between what you expected to receive in a refund and what you\u2019ve actually received now.<\/p>\n In most circumstances, the IRS will provide a written letter to explain the mathematical difference you\u2019re seeing. However, you won\u2019t often see this letter arrive simultaneously with your check.<\/p>\n When the letter does arrive, we can analyze the matter at hand to dive deeper into why the difference in numbers has occurred and formulate a response if necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cShould I cash the check anyway?\u201d<\/em><\/strong> However, what if you\u2019ve received a far greater of a refund than you expected, to the point of where you suspect an error might have occurred on the IRS\u2019 part? In that event, it\u2019s probably a smart move to hold off until a resolution has been made so you aren\u2019t caught by surprise later on in having to pay back funds that weren\u2019t yours. there may be a discrepancy. Is there anything I can do to find out for certain? Or am I basically at the mercy of the IRS?\u201d<\/p>\n Just because it\u2019s the IRS doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t make mistakes now and then. So you absolutely have a right to discover why there\u2019s a difference between what you expected to receive in a refund and what you\u2019ve actually received now.<\/p>\n In most circumstances, the IRS will provide a written letter to explain the mathematical difference you\u2019re seeing. However, you won\u2019t often see this letter arrive simultaneously with your check.<\/p>\n When the letter does arrive, we can analyze the matter at hand to dive deeper into why the difference in numbers has occurred and formulate a response if necessary.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t go into a conversation with the IRS alone.<\/strong> Disclaimer: The information contained in this Blog (the \u201cBlog\u201d) is intended solely to provide general guidance on matters of interest for the personal use of the reader, who accepts full responsibility for its use. In no event will BRP, or its partners, employees or agents, be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this Blog or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Karen Leavitt, CPA, CDFA Bronswick Reicin Pollack, Ltd. \u201cMy refund check arrived but it\u2019s smaller than what I thought it would be on my 1040. I\u2019m concerned there may be a discrepancy. Is there anything I can do to find out for certain? Or am I basically at the mercy of the IRS?\u201d Just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6,25,7,8,23,35,89],"class_list":["post-1433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-bronswick","tag-brp","tag-brp-cpas","tag-chicago-accountant","tag-chicago-business-accounting","tag-chicagoland-cpa","tag-irs-refund-check-discrepancy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronswick.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronswick.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronswick.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronswick.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronswick.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bronswick.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronswick.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronswick.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronswick.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThat depends if we\u2019re talking about an amount smaller or larger than expected. Generally speaking, when the difference is slightly less than you expected, there\u2019s little harm in cashing the amount now. Then, if through discussions with the IRS we find that more money is, in fact, due in your favor, the agency will send another check to make up the difference.<\/p>\n
\nFrom a personal phone call to supplying further documentation, BRP can be the best representative you could ask for in order to provide further clarity on any tax discrepancies. If you\u2019re seeing a refund amount that you believe may be in error, let\u2019s talk about it sooner rather than later at at 847.808.9800<\/em> or email us at info@BRP-CPAs.com<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n