tax blunder

[MsAnna45]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? pa

what can I do? My husband and I had our taxes done by accounting firm and they didn't do it properly. Received a letter from the irs telling me that my taxes were incomplete and they needed more information and forms so I did all the work and got what was needed and faxed the information to the accounting firm and instead of faxing the paperwork they mailed in in and 4 weeks later when I contacted the irs they said that the form that they had requested in the letter was never sent to them. we filed our taxes on the 4th of feb. here it is the 21st of may and still no refund. They have 160.00 coming out of my return for their services, but I did most of the calling to find out why my return was not deposited in my account. So between feb 4th and feb 14th my husband lost his job because we had no car we were planning on buying a cheap car with our refund and now I'm about to lose all of my services electric,phone,etc. what can i do about this?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? pa

what can I do? My husband and I had our taxes done by accounting firm and they didn't do it properly. Received a letter from the irs telling me that my taxes were incomplete and they needed more information and forms so I did all the work and got what was needed and faxed the information to the accounting firm and instead of faxing the paperwork they mailed in in and 4 weeks later when I contacted the irs they said that the form that they had requested in the letter was never sent to them. we filed our taxes on the 4th of feb. here it is the 21st of may and still no refund. They have 160.00 coming out of my return for their services, but I did most of the calling to find out why my return was not deposited in my account. So between feb 4th and feb 14th my husband lost his job because we had no car we were planning on buying a cheap car with our refund and now I'm about to lose all of my services electric,phone,etc. what can i do about this?

Its not really the norm to fax things to the IRS. Mailing things in is more the norm. Therefore, that really wasn't an error.

If your original form was sent in electronically then I do not understand how anything could have been missing. Is the IRS still saying they are missing forms? Have you checked the "Where's my refund?" option at irs.gov?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? pa

what can I do? My husband and I had our taxes done by accounting firm and they didn't do it properly. Received a letter from the irs telling me that my taxes were incomplete and they needed more information and forms so I did all the work and got what was needed and faxed the information to the accounting firm and instead of faxing the paperwork they mailed in in and 4 weeks later when I contacted the irs they said that the form that they had requested in the letter was never sent to them. we filed our taxes on the 4th of feb. here it is the 21st of may and still no refund. They have 160.00 coming out of my return for their services, but I did most of the calling to find out why my return was not deposited in my account. So between feb 4th and feb 14th my husband lost his job because we had no car we were planning on buying a cheap car with our refund and now I'm about to lose all of my services electric,phone,etc. what can i do about this?

Even if you had your taxes done by an accounting firm, you are still responsible for what is and is not sent to the IRS. That said, the fee you paid to the accounting firm for completing your taxes could be refundable. Review the firm's terms of service.

As a side note: Although I know many people rely on a tax refund to take care of bills, it can be risky to depend too heavily on it, especially to rely on it to pay for monthly services like electric. That type of bill is an expected monthly cost and should be part of your regular budget. I hope your husband has applied for unemployment. Good luck.

 

[MsAnna45]

I had to contact a tax advocate to help with getting the irs what they needed to process my taxes another 2 weeks of waiting. I do not depend on my refund for my bills but I do need a car the one I did have the transmission went out in it and was planning on getting another car so that I could find a better job the job I have now they cut my hours down to 4 hours a week and I gross 32.00 a week so you see that is why I need my refund and if they (accounting firm) would have told me that I need a form 1095-a before they e-filed I would have made sure to have it before we sent in our taxes. As of right now I have to pay someone to take me back and forth to work for those 4 hrs. so that I can keep my job no other way to have money.

 

[quincy]

I had to contact a tax advocate to help with getting the irs what they needed to process my taxes another 2 weeks of waiting. I do not depend on my refund for my bills but I do need a car the one I did have the transmission went out in it and was planning on getting another car so that I could find a better job the job I have now they cut my hours down to 4 hours a week and I gross 32.00 a week so you see that is why I need my refund and if they (accounting firm) would have told me that I need a form 1095-a before they e-filed I would have made sure to have it before we sent in our taxes. As of right now I have to pay someone to take me back and forth to work for those 4 hrs. so that I can keep my job no other way to have money.

I can understand your need for the refund, MsAnna45, and I understand what a delay in receiving it can mean to anyone who is counting on it.

If you paid the accounting firm to prepare your taxes for you, and it was their error that resulted in the delay, you can refer to the firm's terms to see about getting a refund.

And, again, if your husband has not yet filed for unemployment, he should, and you might want to look into filing as well based on underemployment, if your hours were cut and you are no longer making what you once were.

In addition to unemployment benefits, you and your husband may wish to check to see if you qualify for any state benefits, to assist for example with your utility costs. Here is a link to COMPASS with information on qualifying for a program and how to apply for assistance: https://www.compass.state.pa.us/compass.web/cmhom.aspx

One final note: When looking for a used car, make sure you have it inspected prior to purchase.

I wish you good luck.

 

[LdiJ]

I had to contact a tax advocate to help with getting the irs what they needed to process my taxes another 2 weeks of waiting. I do not depend on my refund for my bills but I do need a car the one I did have the transmission went out in it and was planning on getting another car so that I could find a better job the job I have now they cut my hours down to 4 hours a week and I gross 32.00 a week so you see that is why I need my refund and if they (accounting firm) would have told me that I need a form 1095-a before they e-filed I would have made sure to have it before we sent in our taxes. As of right now I have to pay someone to take me back and forth to work for those 4 hrs. so that I can keep my job no other way to have money.

Well, the accounting firm would not have known that you needed a form 1095-A unless you TOLD them that you purchased your health insurance on the Obamacare exchange. If you didn't tell them that, then they wouldn't know to tell you that you needed to give them the form 1095-A that the exchange provided to you.

There were many tens of thousands of people whose refunds were delayed this year because they did not include the 1095-A and the corresponding forms that go with it, on their original tax returns.

Your returns should really be electronically filed. That speeds things up considerably. It also might be more in your best interest to use a preparer that does the taxes while you are with them, in person, rather than sending things back and forth. Its less likely that a question will get missed or not answered properly.

 

[quincy]

I would have thought that most accounting firms preparing taxes would have been aware of the need for certain clients to include Form 1095-A with their returns and, at the very least, inquire of their clients about health insurance. People often use tax preparers because they expect the tax preparers to know more about what is needed to complete a return accurately than they do.

That said, I am also aware that the confusion over health insurance led to problems this year with filed returns and many highly anticipated refunds were delayed as a result.

Although there are not many facts to go on here and so it is impossible to say whose fault it is for the delay, I still think the error in MsAnna45's return could potentially be placed on the firm. Whether the firm will refund the $160 in whole or in part is a question mark - but it could be something worth exploring.

 

[LdiJ]

I would have thought that most accounting firms preparing taxes would have been aware of the need for certain clients to include Form 1095-A with their returns and, at the very least, inquire of their clients about health insurance. People often use tax preparers because they expect the tax preparers to know more about what is needed to complete a return accurately than they do.

That said, I am also aware that the confusion over health insurance led to problems this year with filed returns and many highly anticipated refunds were delayed as a result.

Although there are not many facts to go on here and so it is impossible to say whose fault it is for the delay, I still think the error in MsAnna45's return could potentially be placed on the firm. Whether the firm will refund the $160 in whole or in part is a question mark - but it could be something worth exploring.

Quincy, I have a perfect example for you...one of my clients.

Married couple, 4 children.

Did everyone have insurance all year? Yes
Was it provided by your employer? Yes (health insurance now shows on the W2 in box 12 code DD and the amount listed was enough to be for a family plan)

30 days later the client is having a hissy fit because they got a letter from the IRS stating that they did not include form 1095-A and the resultant schedules. Turns out that ONE of the children was not their mutual child and the other parent provided insurance through the exchange.

Another example...not my client but one of the firm's and I ended up dealing with it.

That client had insurance through the employer for 9 months, and through the exchange for 3. The client did not think it was important to mention that when asked whether or not the insurance was provided by their employer. Again, the client had a hissy fit about the delay.

Another client...again not one of mine but I ended up dealing with it.

The kids were on Medicaid. Mom THOUGHT she was on Medicaid too...but had to pay a very small amount for the insurance. Turns out she was on the exchange. Same hissy fit.

If you are asking a client face to face about their insurance its a little easier to pick up on facial expressions etc., that might indicate that their insurance situation was more complicated than their answers, but even then you cannot be certain. I can imagine just how much more difficult it was with the kinds of professionals who do not deal with their clients face to face.

This year was a learning curve for everyone and the IRS did not give tax professionals full information until after the tax season had already started. Our firm did 2000 man hours of continuing ed just on health insurance issues and even then, we were rewriting procedures clear up until mid-February.

Then, to add insult to injury, the original 1095-A's that were mailed out to most people on the exchange were actually incorrect, and had to be re-issued, and did not get re-issued until early March. At first the IRS said that everybody had to amend their returns. They then backed off and said that returns did not have to be amended. However, it turned out that the errors were mostly in favor of the feds, and that amending people's returns actually worked mostly in their favor...

 

[quincy]

Quincy, I have a perfect example for you...one of my clients.

Married couple, 4 children.

Did everyone have insurance all year? Yes
Was it provided by your employer? Yes (health insurance now shows on the W2 in box 12 code DD and the amount listed was enough to be for a family plan)

30 days later the client is having a hissy fit because they got a letter from the IRS stating that they did not include form 1095-A and the resultant schedules. Turns out that ONE of the children was not their mutual child and the other parent provided insurance through the exchange.

Another example...not my client but one of the firm's and I ended up dealing with it.

That client had insurance through the employer for 9 months, and through the exchange for 3. The client did not think it was important to mention that when asked whether or not the insurance was provided by their employer. Again, the client had a hissy fit about the delay.

Another client...again not one of mine but I ended up dealing with it.

The kids were on Medicaid. Mom THOUGHT she was on Medicaid too...but had to pay a very small amount for the insurance. Turns out she was on the exchange. Same hissy fit.

If you are asking a client face to face about their insurance its a little easier to pick up on facial expressions etc., that might indicate that their insurance situation was more complicated than their answers, but even then you cannot be certain. I can imagine just how much more difficult it was with the kinds of professionals who do not deal with their clients face to face.

This year was a learning curve for everyone and the IRS did not give tax professionals full information until after the tax season had already started. Our firm did 2000 man hours of continuing ed just on health insurance issues and even then, we were rewriting procedures clear up until mid-February.

Then, to add insult to injury, the original 1095-A's that were mailed out to most people on the exchange were actually incorrect, and had to be re-issued, and did not get re-issued until early March. At first the IRS said that everybody had to amend their returns. They then backed off and said that returns did not have to be amended. However, it turned out that the errors were mostly in favor of the feds, and that amending people's returns actually worked mostly in their favor...

So I take it you think the firm used by MsAnna should not have to refund the $160, huh?

I heard this was a headache-of-a-year for preparers. Your examples illustrate this nicely. With luck, the government will not think up any other ways to complicate the filing of taxes.

 

[MsAnna45]

I did tell them face to face that I did receive healthcare from the marketplace ins. and he asked how long and I told him two months he said ok and then continued filing our taxes. After he was done filling our taxes he said here is the copy of your taxes you will receive your refund in 7 to 10 days and here it is going on 4 months and still trying to get my refund. And to reply to my husband receiving unemployment he was denied because he couldn't make it to work because we didn't have a car so they put down that he was a no call no show but he did call off every time he was scheduled to work. So he was denied compensation. As for me I can only get 208.00 every 2 weeks and after I pay the person to run me back and forth to work it doesn't leave much for bills. so really frustrated right now between a rock and a hard spot.

 

[MsAnna45]

MsAnna45

They will not refund the money because they said it was on me that I did not have a 1095-A and when I told the owner of the firm that I had no idea about the form he said not his problem and that I should have to pay him more for doing the work for the letter that I got from the irs also but they didn't even do what the letter requested them to do?

I would have thought that most accounting firms preparing taxes would have been aware of the need for certain clients to include Form 1095-A with their returns and, at the very least, inquire of their clients about health insurance. People often use tax preparers because they expect the tax preparers to know more about what is needed to complete a return accurately than they do.

That said, I am also aware that the confusion over health insurance led to problems this year with filed returns and many highly anticipated refunds were delayed as a result.

Although there are not many facts to go on here and so it is impossible to say whose fault it is for the delay, I still think the error in MsAnna45's return could potentially be placed on the firm. Whether the firm will refund the $160 in whole or in part is a question mark - but it could be something worth exploring.

 

[MsAnna45]

I did tell them that I received healthcare from the marketplace ins.for 2 months and the person preparing my taxes said ok and that was all that was said. And my taxes were electronically filed on feb. 4 2015 and here it is going on june and still no refund. And I was face to face with the preparer the first time we had our taxes filed. It was the letter that I received from the irs that I had to fax to them because we didn't have a car to get into town to have them do the paperwork. And if they would have read the letter from the irs it asked for the proper forms that was needed. But they did not mail in the proper form that was requested in the letter they just sent back the letter and the 1095-A and not the other form that was requested in the letter.

Well, the accounting firm would not have known that you needed a form 1095-A unless you TOLD them that you purchased your health insurance on the Obamacare exchange. If you didn't tell them that, then they wouldn't know to tell you that you needed to give them the form 1095-A that the exchange provided to you.

There were many tens of thousands of people whose refunds were delayed this year because they did not include the 1095-A and the corresponding forms that go with it, on their original tax returns.

Your returns should really be electronically filed. That speeds things up considerably. It also might be more in your best interest to use a preparer that does the taxes while you are with them, in person, rather than sending things back and forth. Its less likely that a question will get missed or not answered properly.

 

[commentator]

You are looking for somebody to blame for your current situation, and I don't believe that your tax preparer is solely responsible for your life gone on the rocks. I also don't think the whole refund would've saved you from the next crisis that would have fallen on you, even if you'd gotten it in 7-10 days.

And now, though you don't have money for basic necessities, you're wondering if you should be able to sue your tax professional? That's a very long shot.

There is no evidence of malicious or misconduct negligence in this situation on the preparer's part that I can see. Everything you say about how rotten it is they didn't get your tax refund to you relates to how your life was out of control and you needed it so badly. I doubt if even a small claims court judge would fail to point out the old thing about "Lack of planning on your part does not create an emergency ( or negligence) on someone else's part."

Yes, your husband was responsible for getting back and forth to work, car broken or tax refund delayed or whatever, if he couldn't, they had a valid reason to terminate him, therefore no unemployment. And the same will happen if you don't get in to work.

But the thing is, if you are working all the hours they will give you, apply for unemployment right now anyhow, and you may be able to draw part of an unemployment claim, called "partial unemployment" else maybe they will raise your hours back up. If you are on or apply for any kind of public assistance they'll encourage you to file if your hours have been cut like you say they have.

Do you have that good car picked out that you're going to get when you do get your refund? I'd sure be looking for that right now. How about selling the old one with the defective transmission, at least for the scrap. Many years of living on the edge have taught me that it's best to always assume things won't work out as you've planned and try to avoid putting all your apples in one particular basket.