Several months after filing my taxes and expecting a refund of about $390, I received a notice from the IRS saying that I owed about $800 more. In fact it said that it was a collection notice, claiming that they had sent a previous notice, which I had not received. I contacted Turbo Tax and was put in touch with their Audit Defense service. I had paid extra money for Audit Defense.
Although my notice was not named an "Audit", it was a Collection. After looking at my situation, Audit Defense simply said I should what the IRS said I owed. They said they didn't handle collections, only audits. I wonder how the IRS might conclude I owed more with doing an audit.
Since I trusted what the Turbo Tax system, I believed I didn't owe anymore money.
I spend some very stressful time on the phone with several people at the IRS who in the end concluded that I didn't owe anymore money. They essentially said it was their error. I have since received my original refund amount, plus interest.
I don't think I will use Turbo Tax or their Audit Defense again because they gave me bad advice. I saved myself $800 by handling it myself, which I don't believe I should have had to do.
