chaser123

I want to try this but I am nervous. I think its ok, I have nothing to hide. (But I do value my time) Is there a minimum amount for them to send you a check. thinking about doing a test payment for the minimum. I wouldn't want to file another return to get the $ back (I would eat the loss). I do MS with the IRS, but only with the Jan 15 payment, knowing I am floating it for only a couple of months. For me its expensive MS but easy to reach high spend thresholds. I will vouch that the IRS has no issue with how much you overpay. I have done 100k plus overpayments in 16 & 17 (its expensive MS, only works if you get 2% or more back) but didn't do it last year because I actually owe them money and wanted the the interest free loan until April. I think the economics on gift cards would work, but it would be voluminous. Would they send a check for each overpayment or aggregate. I love trying new things and don't usually ask much in questions an don't expect much in answers other than try it myself. I will tread slowly.

Flyingifr

Minimum is $1. They will not send back refunds of less than that.

chicagoflyer1976

Flyingifr

Yes, the $5,000 would go on Schedule 5 Line 66 as an Estimated Tax payment.

lamont2718

Oops. I neglected to do this and already submitted my filing and payment last month. Is there anything I should do now to get the full refund?

dogeatdog

If you overpay for no reason, it will trigger a manual review and a delay. Just an FYI.

lamont2718

lamont2718

josephstern

OK - so $1,000 to $2,500, fine. How about $50K? Still no increased visibility or red flags likely? Still the same turnaround time if nothing unexpected happens?

Chelski

lamont2718

Same turnaround time. I don't have insight into the internal workings but saw no sign of red flags.

buylowsellhigh

Just make sure you guys have the cash flow to float such a big "overpayment" to the IRS. If you overpay like $50k only to discover that you don't have $$ to PIF the credit card bill, you would have effectively hosed yourself with the credit card interest rate So perhaps other stuff like using plastiq to pay for rent or property tax or utilities is the safe bet lol.

jetsfan92588

I disagree with the certainty of the advice here.

First, refunds of $5m (not sure if this is indexed for inflation or changes) to corporations are reported to the Joint Committee on Taxation (US Congress). The limit for individuals is lower, but I don't know the exact number. The IRS internally has a lower threshold for manual review. When the IRS reports to the JCT they have to provide details on what's going on in the account, which means they have to review several years of returns and other aspects of the account.

Second, the IRS is very concerned about identity theft. So a large payment for a prior year resulting in a refund of the same amount could trigger manual review.

Third, if you have a zero balance on your account for a year you are not being audited for, and you pay a large amount for that year, the refund may trigger manual review to allow enough time for you to file an amended return.

Fourth, while probably unlikely very unusual activity could potentially trigger some financial crimes worries, and your account could theoretically be looked at by IRS-CI, or others at Treasury.

Fifth, and probably the most likely risk, your check may get lost in the mail, there may be IRS computer issues that cause your check to not be issued, your check could get sent to the wrong address, or your refund may simply be put in limbo due to some other glitch (sent for manual review, but never actually manually reviewed).

If you are in fact doing nothing wrong, then you'll probably eventually get your money, but it could potentially take several months or even years.