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Iowa Dept of Rev is trying to seize my accounts for 2006 taxes I already paid ..

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satvic

New member
I moved out of Iowa in 2006 to TX where there is no state tax. HR Block did my taxes then, so everything was filed. Unfortunately, the only record I have of that is a hand written entry in my check book ledger for the check made to HR Block for the services. Neither HR Block nor my Iowa bank has any records going back to 2006.

In March 2018 Iowa Dept of Revenue started sending me notices for the 8k owed for 2006 .. that's 12 years back! Apparently they have not received the returns from HR Block in 2006! I made a mistake of picking up the phone once when they called and tried to tell them the taxes were filed, all was paid and it's been too long since .. but they said they don't care and I would even have to pay these taxes again. They are now at the point of contacting different banks trying to find out where I have the accounts to try to seize them.

Isn't it their fault for not realizing they didn't get the mail back in 2006? What can I do ?

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The HR Block in Iowa did my taxes .... I remember the lady discussing the IA state tax for the few month prior to me moving to TX so I assume she filed them correctly.. I think they even did it electronically back then
 
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adjusterjack

Senior Member
No, it's your fault for not keeping appropriate records of your own.

That being said, I suggest you talk to an Iowa tax attorney who can tell you if there is any statute of limitations that may prevent the state from collecting the tax.
 

not2cleverRed

Obvious Observer
Iowa, you make me smile. :rolleyes:

I find it odd that you are only hearing about this now. When my ex-spouse had issues with Iowa, it took them less than a year after filing for them to notify him that... they were, shall we say, dissatisfied with what he had submitted.

H&R Block did your federal taxes. Did you file your Iowa Income Tax as a Part-Year Resident? If not, that would be the problem.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Isn't it their fault for not realizing they didn't get the mail back in 2006? What can I do ?
No. When it comes to filing returns, that is the obligation of the taxpayer to ensure the state got it. While I have not looked at Iowa specifically, the rule used by the federal government and most states is that there is no statute of limitations (SOL) for assessing tax when no return was filed by the taxpayer. For this reason I recommend taxpayers keep copies of the actual returns and the proof of filing forever. You can get rid of supporting documents usually 7 years after they are no longer relevant to any return, but you want to keep the returns themselves for just this kind of problem.
 

satvic

New member
Iowa, you make me smile. :rolleyes:

I find it odd that you are only hearing about this now. When my ex-spouse had issues with Iowa, it took them less than a year after filing for them to notify him that... they were, shall we say, dissatisfied with what he had submitted.

H&R Block did your federal taxes. Did you file your Iowa Income Tax as a Part-Year Resident? If not, that would be the problem.

===================================================
The HR Block in Iowa did my taxes .... I remember the lady discussing the IA state tax for the few month prior to me moving to TX so I assume she filed them correctly.. I think they even did it electronically back then
 

satvic

New member
No. When it comes to filing returns, that is the obligation of the taxpayer to ensure the state got it. While I have not looked at Iowa specifically, the rule used by the federal government and most states is that there is no statute of limitations (SOL) for assessing tax when no return was filed by the taxpayer. For this reason I recommend taxpayers keep copies of the actual returns and the proof of filing forever. You can get rid of supporting documents usually 7 years after they are no longer relevant to any return, but you want to keep the returns themselves for just this kind of problem.
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Since I'm a mobile contractor worker, my space is very limited .. I scan all of the few paper receipts and keep the PDFs .. except I lost the drives with records over 10yrs...
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
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Since I'm a mobile contractor worker, my space is very limited .. I scan all of the few paper receipts and keep the PDFs .. except I lost the drives with records over 10yrs...
Well, you don't have to keep paper copies necessarily. I have PDFs or scanned imaged of my returns going back about 20 years saved now on flash drives stores in two different places. Takes up no room at all, but should I need proof of the returns and filing I can print them out at moment's notice. It's just a good habit to get into to save the images of those returns and store them in more than one place (maybe have on drive in a bank deposit box) so you won't lose them to fire or some other disaster.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Well, you don't have to keep paper copies necessarily. I have PDFs or scanned imaged of my returns going back about 20 years saved now on flash drives stores in two different places. Takes up no room at all, but should I need proof of the returns and filing I can print them out at moment's notice. It's just a good habit to get into to save the images of those returns and store them in more than one place (maybe have on drive in a bank deposit box) so you won't lose them to fire or some other disaster.
Another thing to consider is the tax professional that you are using for your taxes. The national chains are going to limit what records they keep. Local tax professionals tend to be more flexible. Our firm stores tax returns for as long as the software is still compatible with the hardware. Right now we can go back as far as 2004 for tax returns and 2006 for PDF versions of the backup documentation.
 

satvic

New member
What happened when you contacted H&R Block?
I kept all records on backup drives going back to 1997 when I first started doing my taxes ... but being on the road all the time some drives were stolen others damaged in an accident .. all that was b4 the cloud backup services .. now of course it's easy to encrypt archives and stash them in multiple online clouds to avoid this ..

Luckily, the lady who did my taxes in 2006 still works there and now runs the local HR Block branch .. I did buy HR Block insurance in case those issues arise, but it's only valid for 3 years ... so it's expired in 2010.. she said she will send me a paper to sign giving her the power of atturney so she can talk to IRS but I don't think they are going to yield... at least it's nice on her part. I'll have to visit Iowa end of Jan and talk to with my attorney from the old days.
 

not2cleverRed

Obvious Observer
I kept all records on backup drives going back to 1997 when I first started doing my taxes ... but being on the road all the time some drives were stolen others damaged in an accident .. all that was b4 the cloud backup services .. now of course it's easy to encrypt archives and stash them in multiple online clouds to avoid this ..

Luckily, the lady who did my taxes in 2006 still works there and now runs the local HR Block branch .. I did buy HR Block insurance in case those issues arise, but it's only valid for 3 years ... so it's expired in 2010.. she said she will send me a paper to sign giving her the power of atturney so she can talk to IRS but I don't think they are going to yield... at least it's nice on her part. I'll have to visit Iowa end of Jan and talk to with my attorney from the old days.
Good.

My experience unsnarling my (now ex-)husband's problem with the Iowa Dept of Revenue is that once they've decided you did something wrong, they're sticklers and will not give you the benefit of the doubt.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Good.

My experience unsnarling my (now ex-)husband's problem with the Iowa Dept of Revenue is that once they've decided you did something wrong, they're sticklers and will not give you the benefit of the doubt.
Most states are that was these days. Most of them are way more difficult to deal with than the IRS is.
 

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