Getting closer to our Maryland tax refund [Idiot]
Back in mid-February, I filed our state and federal income tax returns, but then learned a week later that I was an idiot. I transposed 2 digits in Stacie’s SSN, and therefore caused a severe delay in getting our taxes filed and finished for the year. And they’re still not done.
Just a few days after finding out from Maryland that I filed wrong (it took many more weeks for the IRS to even get around to our federal return), I submitted an amended return through their iFile system. Alas, it didn’t help, but I didn’t find that out until this week, a good 2 months later.
So here’s a recap:
- Mid-February - Filed taxes wrong
- Late-February - Filed an amended MD return. IRS told me to wait until they processed my first federal return and sent me a letter.
- Early-March - Got the letter from MD saying I owe them $1700 (I should be getting $1400 though). Called them up and they said to just wait a few more weeks for the amended return to process.
- Late-March - Got a letter from the IRS that we forgot to sign our paper return. Uh, really? So I called up the IRS and made sure they knew we also messed up on Stacie’s SSN. They noted it in their system, and I faxed in the documents they needed from me. Still waiting on the MD tax status.
- Late-April (now) - I called MD again and they said I didn’t have a filed return in their system. I had to go home and get the notice they sent me so they can look me up by that number (uh, what happened to my amended return?). Got the notice number, called it in yesterday. They told me I needed to fax them Stacie’s W-2 form to prove her correct SSN. Another day goes by.
- Today - I faxed in Stacie’s W-2 and called back the guy I was working with. He said he got it and “sent it downstairs”. It should take “about 3 weeks to reprocess my return“. Seriously, just to fix 2 numbers? Isn’t this all automated? Arrrgh! Still waiting on my federal return status (I owed money, so I’m not worried about it as much).
So not only did I give the state of Maryland an interest-free loan of $1400, but my stupid mistake is making me wait another month or more after tax day to finally get our refund check! So the lesson learned is to 1) make sure your withholdings are correct and you’re balanced out as best as you can on tax day and 2) don’t be stupid and mess up your return.
Oh, and I’m sure this will affect the timing of our Tax Stimulus Rebate Check. We’ll probably be the ones getting it in December.
Try one of these related posts too!:- Day 79 of Idiocy: Still fighting for my Maryland tax refund!
- Filed Maryland Taxes Online
- I’m an Idiot: 2007 Tax Edition
- Cell phones qualify for telephone excise phone tax refund
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That absolutely sucks, i’m sorry to hear that! At least you have everything good to go now. that, and it made for an interesting read
Ah, Maryland. I used to live there, and will have to file my return there once I get all my W-2s, finally. They gave me a lot of trouble over the last couple years - IE, I still have received LAST year’s return.
Nice.
AH: bureaucracy + automation= PITA
What I find funny is you probably live closer to Washington DC than anyone else, yet it takes so much time for them to act. Clearly there’s a lot of red tape that has to catch your mistake even though you acknowledge making a mistake before they find it. Hope it all works out.
Ick. Doesn’t sound like a fun year for taxes. Still, at least you’ve got all the paperwork done and now it’s just waiting (annoying, but better than having the paperwork still a mess).
I’ve had a difficult time with my Maine taxes lately! Seems I underestimated (severly) my estimated taxes throughout the year and I owed the state an additional $2500. At the same time I was being audited by the IRS, I had my property taxes due, and 2008 Maine estimated taxes due! It was a tough month but I made it through!
At least now I’ll have some new material for my blog ;)!
Good luck!
Ooh, what a mess! Now you’ve made me paranoid about my return…I’ve got to recheck my copy to make sure everything’s okay.
I hope you’re laughing about this, (so you don’t cry!)
I enjoy reading your blog.
Silly Marylander! I got my Virginia refund yesterday in spite of the fact that I could have filed in Jan and instead waited until last week. Okay, so I guess us Virginians can be silly also…
That stinks. I just finished my own tax saga not too long ago.