I got a letter from the IRS yesterday...

[markem]

Originally Posted by RevSmoke

If the IRS made a mistake, and they discover their mistake, they will come looking for their money. And, you better have it when they ask. If not, you will pay interest to them.

Actually, you will pay interest if you owe, even if they made a mistake. If they think that you should have caught their mistake, the will also assess a penalty.

At the very least, call the 800 customer service number for your area and ask them to verify. This won't mean squat, btw, if you weren't supposed to get it back. Have your CPA verify and also ask your CPA about sending it back if he does not think that he (the CPA) made a mistake.

Several years ago, I received some IRS largess and it appeared that I did make a mistake, having entered a value on the wrong line, which they caught. A later automated audit caught where the number should have been entered and thus correctly judged that I should not have received the largess. Interest but no penalties. The person at the IRS who I talked to said that the best bet was to always return checks you weren't expecting with a letter asking the IRS to recheck their math.