Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Federal tax return was garnished erroneously; how to get the $ back and correct the mistake?
I'm asking on behalf of my mother who is elderly and disabled. Her taxable income is exempt from state taxes. She never owes any state taxes and in the past the state has actually owed her, but she didn't file for 15 years since she did not owe anything and was not required to file.
Last year the state told her she has to start filing or they will fine her. So, she sent in the returns for the past 5 years. She got a notice back later saying that she had not sent the 2013 tax form and was going to be fined over $3k. The thing is, she sent the forms certified return receipt and got the receipts back to show they received the forms.
I contacted the Louisiana Department of Revenue to get clarification and (after getting disconnected at least 5 times) was told that they received the forms, but that one of the pages or forms was missing and she needed to re-send. She attempted to send it online numerous times but it would not go through. She had to print the forms out again and send them a second time-- certified return receipt again-- and got the receipts showing they arrived. We thought the matter was closed. Unfortunately, she just got her federal tax return notice only to find that they had garnished the entire return to pay her state taxes-- but she doesn't owe any state taxes. Any person owing $1k or more in taxes can have their drivers license suspended.
How can she go about getting the money refunded and getting the state to admit she doesn't owe them anything?
For clarification, once she was notified that she needed to file her state taxes, she did file them. She filled out the schedule E forms. All of the other returns preceding and following the 2013 form were accepted. They were all pretty much the same except for the year so there is no reason for the 2013 one to have been rejected other than a clerical error on the part of the LDR. We think they lost part of the return since they do not allow the paperwork to be stapled together.
I should add that the phone menu for the nearest LDR office was a total pain-- many dead ends and a lot of disconnects. They do not take walk-ins, so there is no just going in and waiting. You have to get an appointment and their operating hours are relatively short.
The rule about people who are exempt from state taxes having to file is something that was only added in recent years.
Update: She tried calling the LDR to make an appointment and they wouldn't even let her leave a message or get through. She got an automated message saying the call volume was so high that they weren't even letting people stay in a queue to talk and then hung up on her. Would she be able to resolve this by talking to the federal IRS?
7 Answers
- ninasgrammaLv 75 years ago
Louisiana is now strictly enforcing the rule that a resident who is required to file a federal tax return must file a Louisiana tax return. In particular, even though her income is exempt, she must file a return and show on Schedule E which exemption(s) she claims. If Schedule E is missing or has an incorrect code, the state will not recognize the exemption.
Go to a local tax preparer with the correspondence and the tax returns and let them deal with this. The preparer can make sure the 2013 tax return is correct and deal with the state to get the refund released. Ask if the preparer has dealt with this particular problem. Many of them have in the past year.
- troLv 75 years ago
you would probably be wise to get a professional to help resolve the problems your mother has
first of all her not having to file is wrong if there is a chance that the state owed her money, that would be a very good reason to file
if she has not filed in 15 yrs, it might be a wise thing to actually get all of them prepared and submitted to the appropriate agencies
it is very possible that she might not have had a requirement to file a federal tax but the exemptions are not the same for the state and she could very well have had to file a state return
as stated, get some professional help this obviously is over your pay grade
- A HunchLv 75 years ago
Someone goes to the State of LA Department of Revenue with the appropriate paperwork.
You wait your turn for a few hours and talk with the representative.
Since she is worried about her drivers license, then she should be in good enough health to do this.
If not, someone else can do. That person will need to bring the appropriate power of attorney document that allows you to talk to the representative on your mother's behalf.
Since the State of LA currently has your money, when they are comforttable that your mother does not owe any money, they will refund her any access...
- Anonymous5 years ago
It sounds to me like your (or her) understanding that she "didn't have to file" state tax returns was incorrect. That's the clear message Louisiana is telling her. Consult a tax accountant.
- How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- curtisports2Lv 75 years ago
This is when you get the local TV station and your Congressperson involved. Bureaucrats won't lift a finger to help you until somebody forces them to.
