Pay-By-Refund $1,200 Payments Go To Preparer

[BobKamman]

This is being reported by WLS-TV in Chicago:

[Taxpayer] said when she checked payment status for her stimulus check on the IRS website, the alert told her it was deposited into a different bank account. She said the account was never on file and never attached to any W-2 or other tax forms.

"I didn't know what was going on because I had never seen never had an account that ended in 2772," she told the I-Team. "I tried to call IRS, and none of the numbers on the website. I couldn't get through to any of the numbers."

She said her tax preparer told her that the Treasury Department made a mistake and deposited her money into her tax preparer's bank account.

Her tax preparer. . . verified the issue and said it happened to at least 300 of her clients.

"The money went to the banks that service the tax preparation companies, it never went to the tax payers bank accounts," she explained. "They are left waiting and I am upset."

[The preparer] said the money is being sent back from the wrong bank to the Treasury Department; then her clients should eventually get their money.

https://abc7chicago.com/finance/stimulus-check-direct-deposit-issues-reported-during-1st-round-of-pa...

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

One more reason Im thankful that I don't use banking products!

[IRonMaN]

300 wrong bank accounts here.  Three hundred bank accounts there ............ pretty soon we are talking a lot of money.  I wonder how many other tax preparers out there took an early retirement and moved out of town.

[BobKamman]

More on this today from the Washington Post website:

Customers who use popular tax preparation services such as H&R Block, TurboTax and Jackson Hewitt complained on Twitter and to The Post that they didn’t get their stimulus payment on Wednesday.

Up to 21 million tax filers could be affected, said consumer law expert Vijay Raghavan, because the IRS does not have these people’s direct deposit information on file if they received an advance on their tax refund from these companies or had the fee for tax preparation taken out of their tax refund.

The reason is that tax preparation companies received these people’s tax refund first, deducted their fees and then distributed the remaining refund to the customers. Because of that, the IRS had a “temporary bank account” on file that the tax preparer created for the 2019 tax season, Raghavan said.

[IRonMaN]

Dear Client:

So sorry.  Since I didn't trust you to pay for my tax preparation services, I deducted my fee (plus a little extra) from your refund.  Since my getting paid was more important than your refund, we have a little problem.  Your stimulus check is going to be delayed for awhile because I accidently ended up with your money.  You are going to get paid, but it could take awhile to get straightened out.  But the good news is, you could be the lucky recipient of an actual check with our president's name on it.   I'm sure that will help make up for the delay in your payment.

Sincerely,

Your Trusted Tax Preparer

[BobKamman]

@IRonMaN 

"Also, have you considered having a little less tax withheld from your paycheck and depositing that money in a savings account so this time next year you could pay me up front and collect your refund like normal people?"

[abctax55]

Why does this just seem like poetic justice to me?

I think I need to just turn off all news/forums/telephones/ etc...  my mood is not good today.

🤣