They didn't buy an i bond for us either.
In the irs2go app it said (generic form message) that they didn't buy a bond because we had a past obligation due (not sure that's the case, and even if it was, there was enough money to buy the i bond) or because the amount was not a multiple of $50 or was over $5,000 (unlikely).
I called the above # that Julie provided and eventually navigated to be able to reach a person. The outgoing message said estimated wait time is 2 hours or more. I found no option to leave a number to be called back. I hung up.
I called a standard IRS number twice before that, and it just gave me an automated menu with no way I could tell to reach a person. That # was: Individuals [phone number removed] 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time https://www.irs.gov/help/telephone-assistance
I contacted Treasury Direct, and not surprisingly they told me to contact the IRS.
Here are 3 options but I don't know if they'll work:
1.Contact the IRS by phone (at the 1040 # above), which likely won't work. I didn't find a way to email the IRS.
2. Make an appointment at a local IRS office. Apparently there's a difference between a TAC and a TAS office. Here's for the TAC: https://www.irs.gov/help/contact-your-local-irs-office
3. You can submit a case to the IRS's Taxpayer Assistance Service (TAS) I think by phone, and definitely by fax or mail. If enough of us do this, maybe they'll fix the system, or maybe at least we can buy the bond after all somehow, like they'll make an exception to the 10k limit if necessary because it was the IRS's fault. The IRS should call the taxpayer if there's a question about buying the i bond instead of just refunding the whole amount. https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/contact-us/ or https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/wp-content
/uploads/2022/04/CaseAcceptance_040422.pdf All in person TAS offices are closed per https://www.irs.gov/advocate/local-taxpayer-advocate.
Good luck. Hope this helps.
