The Right to Pay No More Than The Correct Amount

          The Taxpayer Bill of Rights are 10 fundamental rights that Taxpayers have when dealing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Knowing these rights will improve interaction when dealing with tax matters. The third on this list is: The Right to Pay No More Than the Correct Amount of Tax.

          All Taxpayers have the right to pay only what is legally due, including penalties and interest. If you receive a tax notice and believe that it is in error, you should write back to the office that sent the notice within the appropriate time frame. Providing photocopies of detailed records that support your claim would be helpful. However, keep in mind there is currently a month’s long backlog of processing mail correspondence at IRS offices. These delays can add to penalties and interest being added if there truly is a tax debt. Since these unreasonable delays are caused by the IRS that is a valid reason to request they be removed. The Taxpayers right to pay no more than the correct amount has been violated in this situation.

          If you realize that a tax return has been filed with errors, an amended one may not be necessary. The IRS will automatically correct for simple math mistakes. If you do not agree with an adjustment, a challenge can be made within 60 days. We will discuss more about this in the next Bill of Rights post.

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