It's always nerveracking when one receives a letter from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) [1], especially since this years tax-bill was a bit on the large side. As I was opening it, I kept expecting to see something like:
Dear Mr. Conner:
Congratulations!
You have been randomly selected to recieve a full audit of your taxes for the past five (5) years, starting with the 1997 tax year (and remember, we never make mistakes). Please call the number below to schedule time for your audit at our convenience.
And thank you for using the IRS. Have a nice day.
So I was rather surprising to read:
Dear Mr. Conner:
Re regret to inform you that you have overpaid your taxes for the 2004 tax year and are therefore entitled to receive money back. We calculated that your income as [some amount lower than I calculated] and therefore your tax liability should have been [about 80% of what I actually calculated]. If this is okay, do nothing and you should receive a check from us for the difference. If however, you think we are in error, please feel free to contact us so we can flag you for a full audit.
And thank you for using the IRS. Have a nice day.
I certainly wasn't expecting that!
The second letter from them was the actual refund check.
Sweet!