I Fought the Law and...

...and I won??? A few months ago the I.R.S. sent me a letter (don't you love to get a letter from the I.R.S.?). It was informing me that my 2003 tax return had been under review and a discrepancy between my records and theirs revealed that I had underpaid what I owed for that year by $3, 800. It had something to do with selling my house and not having to pay some kind of projected interest. I dunno, I'm not exactly a green thumb when it comes to this kind of stuff. I had 30 days to collect my evidence that I did not owe this hefty sum and submit it to 'the machine' for further review. Huh? How do I collect evidence showing that I don't owe the man my hard earned cash? I was hoping a paper with my notarized signature on it saying something to the effect of "nu uh" would suffice. The local I.R.S. office said 'no'. Damnit! Nope. It seems I would need nothing less than the 1098 form itself that my mortgage company would be in possession of. Who was my mortgage company again? Remember how all my ticket stubs were pristinely preserved for all those years so that they could end up being on display here? Well, that same anal retentiveness came through for me. Deep in my file cabinet was all my collected paperwork from the purchase and selling of the house in question. But alas, not in that folder nor in my 2003 tax files folder (tucked neatly between my 2002 and 2004 folders) was there a 1098 form. So, off to call the mortgage company. Hmmm, seems they were bought out by another mortgage company since then. What mortgage company and what is their 800 number? Thanks to a co-worker who is much better at internet searching than me (one hundred monkeys with 100 keyboards would be better at internet searching than me), I had that name and number in my mitts 2 days later (tick tock tick tock time running out). "Hmmmm" says the mortgage company's faceless cronie "those records are in a different location. On microfische. We'll have to get back to you." "Okay, tick tock tick tock" I remind the voice on the other end. Fast forward 20 days... Still no call back from faceless cronie. So I decide to play hardball... "But I realllllllly neeeeeeed it!" I wine to some other faceless cronie. "We're still looking for it sir" she assures me "Those microfische films are VERY small. You should be able to ask the I.R.S. for a 30 day extension." Fast forward 30 days (with said extension granted)... Still no call back from either faceless cronie. So I decide to break out the big guns... "But I'm gonna get in trouble!" I whimper to yet a 3rd faceless cronie. "We apologize for the delay in being able to serve you sir. You should be able to send the I.R.S. a request for a 30 day extension." Fast forward 20 days (with second said extension granted)... Still no call or fax from any of this companies many faceless cronies. It was time to show them I meant business... "Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaase!" I sobbed into the receiver. "Sir, we simply are not able to locate the papers that you requested. It is possible that the paperwork that was sent by your mortgage company to the I.R.S. was sent in error. I'm sorry." Wait a minute... an error? Is that good or bad? Errors are usually bad... but... $3,800 is also bad. If $3,800 is an error... isn't that good then? "Um, can I get you to put what you just told me onto your letterhead and fax it to me?" "Yes sir" Fast forward to last week (after receiving said fax and forwarding it on to the I.R.S. office in charge of my case)... I receive a letter in the mail from the I.R.S. saying that my case has been resolved in my favor and no further action needs to be taken on my behalf. See? When Bricotrout takes the gloves off, breaks out the big guns, and gets down to business... He gets hella lucky!!