IRS took my 300 bucks for back taxes that I couldn't pay while I am permanently disabled. Stimulate the IRS?

Question

In 2003 I was forced to go on SSD and my income was such that I didn't have money to pay IRS and enough money to live on at the same time. I contacted them and they waived or cancelled what I owed them, now I find that the stimulas payment we all were to receive was taken by them to help pay the back taxes. So if the stimulas payment is for boosting the economy does it help to give it to the IRS? Not that I shouldn't pay my taxes, which I do believe I should, and how many other people are in this same boat?

Answer 1

Since the tax you owe was from BEFORE you went on SSDI, why didn't you pay them in the first place when they were due?  They apparently accepted your claim that you couldn't pay them and still live on the SSDI so they haven't pursued collection.

Answer 2

The IRS accepted your explanation that you were unable to pay the taxes due due to your situation and put your account in uncollectable status.  That doesn't make the debt go away.  The IRS has up to 10 years from the date the tax was assessed to collect it, and interest and penalties will continue to accrue when it's in uncollectable status.  

However if you have a refund coming at any time that it is in uncollectable status, the IRS will always capture that refund and apply it to the outstanding debt.  The rebates are treated as any other tax refund and will be captured and applied to any amounts outstanding.  This was all explained to you in the notice you received from the IRS when they put your account in uncollectable status.  Dig it out and read it if you still have it.

Answer 3

As others have noted, the IRS has deferred your debt, not cancelled it. It will eventually go away when the collection statue of limitations passes (generally 10 years from the date of assessment).

As for "Dag59's" comment that the rebate is a vehicle to get folks on the tax rolls, that comment makes no sense. The millions of people who normally don't file because they only draw Social Security income won't have to file in the future. And if they owed taxes, the most likely will have already been levied through the Federal Payment Levy Program. Similarly, non-filers are already subject to programs that identify them and encourage compliance.

Answer 4

I think the IRS should give me 10 grand, and I promise I will stimulate the H@ll out of the economy with it!

This effort is just a bogus band-aid, feel-good gesture on the govt's part.  I didn't get one either, but I'm not losing any sleep over it.

Answer 5

Our government and the laws surrounding the IRS are manifold and fluid from year to year. The IRS has sweeping authority to seize, levy, impound and garnish any monetary vehicle to satisfy back taxes....Unless you received a notice specifically forgiving the back tax, it simply collects interest and penalties until the entire amount is paid off.

The stimulus payment is a vehicle to collect information on taxpayers that traditionally do not file tax returns on a regular basis.

By offering a stimulus check and an easy way to call in and claim the money the IRS hopes to identify millions of taxpayers and individuals who either don't file or infrequently file and thus increasing the tax rolls.

Answer 6

The IRS did not "waive or cancel" what you owed them.

The IRS put you in a currently not collectible category meaning that they would not pursue collection from other sources.

You should be getting an annual reminder notice of what you still owe the IRS.

Answer 7

I am totally disabled and have been since 1990 for 12 years I drew my disability and in 2002 I had a house fire and lost every thing. I had no way of keeping up with my mail so I missed a dead line on some paper work I was to send back to SSA. So for this they said my excuse that my home had just burned to the ground was not a good enough excuse so they terminated my benbfits and declaired me no longer disabled, Then they decided that they had sent me one to many checks and said I owed them 600.00 dollars. My husband is also disabled so the 600. that he was supposed to get they kept for the 600. they claimed to have over payed me. I was drawing on my self so mine had nothing to do with his, But because they are in charge they do as they please and there is nothing we can do but grin and bare it...