If I were to make a list of "Things I Pray I Never Have To Deal With In This Lifetime", I can pretty much guarantee that "an angry letter from the IRS" would make the top ten.
But that's what showed up in the mailbox on Saturday.
It would appear they are disputing my income, and therefore the taxes I paid, in 2009.
They are expecting me to send them a check for the difference by December 7th.
In the amount of $295,000.
And change.
It all stems from the short sale of our house in LA.
To the boyfriend and me, it was an unthinkable tragedy, the loss of our dream home and our life's savings, which we'd spent to restore the house to it's former glory. It was also the loss of an investment which we had planned to help cushion us in our Golden Years.
To the IRS, it was a lottery windfall and now they want their pound of flesh.
I'm sure my crack accountant will take care of it, although his degree of helpfulness has dropped almost exactly in line with my income. Both currently stand at around 20% what they once were.
Part of me wants to just cut them the check. How often do you get to write a personal check for six figures? Sure, it'll bounce, but what are they going to do? Send me to jail?
That doesn't scare me.
I live in Bakersfield.
