My IRS Experience

The IRS has gotten a bad rap.

All my life I've heard horror stories about peoples' dealings with the United States Internal Revenue Service. This morning I had my first personal interaction with a representative of this dreaded federal agency.

There was an apparent problem with my return which not only negated my refund, but also left me owing a rather substantial amount. I pulled out copies of my return and immediately found what I thought might be the problem. Two small blanks. Two bits of missing information.
I called and, after holding for a bit, talked to a gentleman who was incredibly helpful. I gave him my information and described the problem as I found it to be. He pulled up my file, confirmed my suspicion regarding the error, and answered my questions.
Then he surprised me. He asked if I had access to a fax machine and told me to fax to his attention the corrected information. He would then correct my return, thereby reinstating my refund. He even called me back after I faxed the information to let me know he'd corrected my return and when I could expect my refund.

He didn't have to do that. He could have been a jerk about it. Truthfully, I was expecting the worst. It was my error and I should have caught it before mailing the return.

So here's to you, Mr. IRS-Man. You're not anything like we thought.