My tax refund was direct deposited in the wrong account, what are my chances of getting it back?

Question

My direct deposit for my taxes was put into the wrong account. Its just my luck that the person took all the money out and spent it. Now the IRS is telling me that if they cant recover the funds (which takes them 4-6 weeks) then I will have to take it up directly with the person who spent it. What recourse do I have?

Answer 1

How do you know that the money was spent. Is this someone you know? If so, did you knowingly give the IRS their bank account information? If that's the case, then the IRS can't do anything and it's between you and that person.

If you put the wrong bank info on the form and you don't know the person, then the IRS will contact the bank to see if the funds were received and who owns the account. Banks will normally reject direct deposits if the name on the payment doesn't match the owner of the account. This is the process that takes up to six weeks. The IRS will not make you go after the person who erroneously received the refund.

The IRS did erroneously deposit money into the wrong accounts of about 1500 people, but these have all been corrected so it's unlikely you're in that group.

Answer 2

wow ... I would think the bank should be able to help you ... have you talked to them?   I would think the IRS would be more concerned also !

Answer 3

Of course there is more to your problem than you are telling.  The refund was deposited into an account number you provided IRS on your tax return?  Or where did IRS get the account number for the direct deposit?

contact your bank to find out what you should do now.

Answer 4

Yes of course you can get it back... Its your money... The bank is wrong.. If its their error then they are soley responsible and they dont have a legal leg to stand on...If the error was by the revenue then equally they are responsible.. If you do not retrieve your money then take legal recourse, you can't lose..

Answer 5

You'd have to give more info on the "wrong account" issue.  If it was deposited in the account you listed on your tax return, but that just wasn't the account where you intended to have it deposited, then what you are being told is correct.

Answer 6

Okay, assuming you gave them the correct banking information, if the error was on the part of the IRS, they are responsible. They will try and tell you that they aren't, but you may have to sue the IRS in order to recover the funds. It is the IRS's responsibility to sue the person who wrongfully spent the funds.

Answer 7

"Wrong account"?  What's the rest of the story?  Was this an IRS administrative error or did you tell them to put it in someone else's account?