In April 2019 , I wrote a check to the IRS on behalf of my son for his taxes owed with his form 4868.
Unfortunately I wrote the wrong SSN on the Check. The tax return was accepted on September 8, 2019. Now in October the IRS is saying he owes the original amount plus failure to file and failure to pay penalty plus interest charges. What do we do?
Did the IRS cash the check, i.e. did it show up as paid in your bank account? If so, then the IRS has the money. They just didn't credit it to your son's account, because of the wrong SSN. Your son has to call the IRS to straighten it out. If your son is too young to call himself, you should be able to make the call.
If they did not cash the check, stop payment on it and pay what the IRS notice says he owes.
Thanks for the reassurance, yes the IRS cashed the check in April. We are trying to call together as he is still a teenager but an adult.