IRS sent us an inquiry. The notice asked to pay the penalties for the carryover amount from the prior year to year 2016. Per IRS, the carryover amount was not calculated correctly. I consulted with my accountant. After reviewing, my accountant said that everything looked correct from the tax filing perspectives.
As the deadline to pay the penalties was looming near, my CPA gave me 2 options- (1)I give power of attorney to CPA and he calls them on my behalf or (2) Either I call them myself.
Whenever we’ve heard the name IRS, there is an element of fear associated with it. Nevertheless, I decided to go with option 2. i.e. to call them myself. I picked up the phone scarily not knowing what will I hear and how will my interaction go. Gladly, I was not kept on the hold waiting for long time. I figured it was holiday time and queue was light.
IRS representative came. She was courteous yet firm. She asked me what my situation is, what topic am I calling about etc. She researched my case. I really had a great chat with her for about 15-20 min. As we were concluding our call, both of us came to consensus is that there is a good possibility that IRS itself might have made a clerical error and that the error may not entirely lie on my side.
She asked me to reach out to another department- their Collections Department and see if they could extend my deadline. Since it was already 5pm and I was getting delayed to pick up the kids, I decided to make a call next day. Next day, I called the Collections Department and gave them the context of my discussion with IRS representative. I had another fruitful discussion and I was able to extend the deadline.
To make the long story short, the fear of unknown I had implanted in my mind was gone after that call.
So that is my secret to deal with IRS or rather, I call it a lesson learned. I realized that, at the end of the day, IRS is also made up of human beings and thus, human elements come into play such as communication skills, negotiation skills, listening abilities, and showing mutual respect to reach fruitful outcomes. This is no different than the outcomes and results we try to achieve in Corporate environment or social circles.
It proved to me a point that whenever we decide to embark on a new venture, we always go through trials and tribulations. It is due to our self-limiting beliefs, procrastination, making up our minds based on what we have hea#rd from others, or just getting imprisoned by our own thoughts.
What we think and how we think also matters a lot. That element of fear of unknown or fear of failure is always lurking not knowing where we’ll land and what outcomes we’ll achieve. The worst thing that will happen to us is we will fail but the experience we will gain out of it will be valuable. What is important is taking action and taking that first step. Unless we do that, we are not able to attain our full potential.
Signing off for now with positive vibes. Happy Holidays!
To your Success,
