Don't pay taxes twice like I did because of confusing TurboTax email.

[Ruby913]

I finished my taxes many weeks ago. Later when my e-files were accepted turbotax emailed with the acceptance that I needed to pay my amount due. I submitted a payment with pay1040 dot com and then days later I see two debits in my checking for the same IRS payment. As it turns out, TurboTax already had set up an autopayment when I finished the taxes (I'd forgotten).

Before I paid on the 1040 website I checked Turbotax and I couldn't find any evidence of me already scheduling the payment, nor did I have an email about it. It's a very poor set up by TurboTax to have someone schedule a payment now and then remind them to pay (after they'd paid) without any record of the scheduled payment.

Now I've got to deal with getting a thousand dollars back from the IRS that I need during a pandemic.

[MMelanson21]

First time having to pay and the same thing happened to me.  Thought I scheduled a payment in Turbotax but couldn't find any evidence that I did when I reviewed the return documents.  It actually appears to instruct you to pay directly on the IRS site which I did.  Then 2 days later another payment went through so now I have paid twice.  So far the number I have to fix the issue is [phone number removed] and they are not accepting calls.  Did you ever figure out how to get your second payment back?

[Ruby913]

I couldn't get through to anyone at the IRS either. I had my bank cancel the extra payment, which started an entire nightmare. My erroneous double payment and then having my bank cancel one of them a day afterward started a terrible chain reaction that I'm still dealing with. The double payment caused the IRS to auto issue a refund check unbeknownst to me. I'd already had my bank cancel one of the payments as I said, so I looked up to see what to do when you get a refund you should not have gotten. It said to return it to the check to the IRS following a few steps--and I did so. That was over two months ago, I think. The IRS STILL hasn't credited my refund check back to my account even though my certified envelope was received two months ago. Now my account still says I owe money and I don't and there is no one answering phones at the IRS.

Long story short. Do nothing. The IRS should send you a refund check for the extra amount, just do not cancel your accidentali extra payment as I did.

If you must contact someone about it, which I finally did, they'll tell you just to wait it out as you/we shouldn't get any penalties because they go by the date they actually received the erroneous check or payment. I got through to the IRS Tax Advocate line at [phone number removed], which isn't the IRS, but they can look up things on your account for you.

[zooboy1974]

Thank you for posting this! I had a similar issue occur and now have had 2 payments come out - one in March when I filed and one in April on the 15th (evidently I had set up a future date payment which I couldn't find anywhere when I filed). Good to know they should be issuing a refund automatically for that second payment. 

[Ruby913 · Accepted solution]

I wanted to update my inquiry for anyone else having the same issue. After trying to call randomly for 4 months I didn't get anybody from the IRS main office, the Kansas City office, or the tax advocate line aside from the one time I got through to the tax advocate they told me just to wait it out. 

In mid July I received a CP 504 letter from the IRS saying that they are going to seize my assets and possibly suspend my passport because I owed the same amount on the refund check that I had sent back plus interest charges. I had a freak out and the next day I called and called and called the IRS line at the 1040 number. I finally got a hold of someone after waiting on hold for an hour and a half and they told me that just a week prior the IRS noted that there was a representative looking into my account from the returned refund check department. A week and a half later I checked my account transcript online and it finally showed a zero balance owed with zero penalties, noting the refund check had been re-credited to my account.

So it took over four and a half months for the Kansas City office to open my certified mail with the refund check returned in it. All the while they were sending me nasty grams and then finally a threatening letter that they were going to seize my assets!

This was one of the most stressful times I've ever had and it all could have been avoided if they opened their freaking mail and answered their phones! It is such a shame that I and many others have went through this. Now I know if I ever receive an erroneous refund check again that I will just cash it and then write another check to the IRS when I get a statement that I owe the same amount. I was so upset that I did the right thing and followed the directions the IRS gave on their own website regarding erroneous checks and I ended up spending money on getting certified mail sent and all the stress and all the phone calls I tried to make when I should have just ignored their instructions and cashed it.