4 ms·

> I mean, really: how is paying 4% APR on a loan[1] you got from the government "at their mercy?". It's not even a bad rate for an unsecured loan! People routin

by chime 14y ago

> I mean, really: how is paying 4% APR on a loan[1] you got from the government "at their mercy?". It's not even a bad rate for an unsecured loan! People routinely pay much higher for car loans, and even now mortgages (which are at historic lows) are only a little better. Because I didn't want the loan. What's not to understand. I wouldn't have had a problem paying the full amount if they had told me sooner. Also it was over 6% because it was 2+ years and not 3. > My guess is that they weren't actually "estranged" three years ago, and she probably did meet the definition of a dependent. I'm certain it met the definition but not the spirit. It wasn't worth having us fight or prolong this. As it is it took 8 months, four registered letters, 20+ hours on the phone, and numerous meetings with my tax attorney to get this resolved. IRS didn't just say "Cannot qualify for Hope Credit because lifetime limit was reached." They outright denied it and asked for the full amount with interest immediately. If this was a business deduction like restaurant bill, we would've paid it immediately. But denying education credit without any reason why? We had no idea her 4 years credit was already used. We had to contact her school, Sallie Mae, review all of our past records etc. and finally our accountant suggested that maybe when she was younger, someone claimed her. This 2 year $500 'unsecured loan' at a wonderful interest rate cost me easily over $3k and delayed my citizenship process by 8+ months. Did you know if IRS has an open claim against you, you cannot file for citizenship even if you're married to a citizen, lived in US for 13 years and have a green card? I'm not angry. I'm just saying their systems and processes leave much to be desired.

ajross 14y ago
The facts keep changing here. How does a 12% interest accumulation on a $500 loan come out to $3000? Or maybe the $500 was the interest, in which case your "loan" amount was $4167 (which, I'll just say again, is hardly an insignificant fact -- lots of people would love to get a $4k loan at 4% with a 3-year baloon payment!). And I don't see why you ended up paying the remaining $2500k to a lawyer when even you admit the tax liability was correct (and in any case why would you pay >50% of the amount being contested on the lawyer anyway? That's just not worth it.) The one item that strikes me is the bit about the citizenship. And I can clearly see how that would be a huge disruption. But frankly I'd blame an unjust INS policy here. I don't see how you're pinning this on the IRS for correctly (if inefficiently) enforcing its tax code.
- chime 14y ago
  Interest was just $65-$70 or so on the $500 'loan'. $3k was in accountant, tax attorney, paperwork fees. We also had to pay her school to send notarized transcripts to IRS because they wanted proof that she even went to school. And since the IRS letter arrived just 2 days before their deadline, we had to pay extra to the school to get it delivered overnight. Most annoying part is that Sallie Mae was the one that gave out the loan directly to her school. I'm not saying the citizenship was IRS fault. I said a $500 'loan' that I never asked for, had no intention of 'stealing', had no way to know was pending, ended up causing months of paperwork, hassles, and undue stress. It is appalling that people expect me to treat this like a wonderful tax refund instead of what it was - absolute waste of productive time. All of this could've been avoided by a single rule in IRS tax processing system that auto-sends a letter or email saying 'Our records show X yrs of Y lifetime credit have already been claimed. Please refile.' And I'm certain that I'm not the only person who had to go through a similar thing.
anigbrowl 14y ago
Because I didn't want the loan. What's not to understand. I wouldn't have had a problem paying the full amount if they had told me sooner. Also it was over 6% because it was 2+ years and not 3. You had the use of the money in the meantime, which has a value. As for the delay in your citizenship, IRS does not make that rule, it's written into the immigration law.

by chime 14y ago

ajross 14y ago

The facts keep changing here. How does a 12% interest accumulation on a $500 loan come out to $3000? Or maybe the $500 was the interest, in which case your "loan" amount was $4167 (which, I'll just say again, is hardly an insignificant fact -- lots of people would love to get a $4k loan at 4% with a 3-year baloon payment!). And I don't see why you ended up paying the remaining $2500k to a lawyer when even you admit the tax liability was correct (and in any case why would you pay >50% of the amount being contested on the lawyer anyway? That's just not worth it.) The one item that strikes me is the bit about the citizenship. And I can clearly see how that would be a huge disruption. But frankly I'd blame an unjust INS policy here. I don't see how you're pinning this on the IRS for correctly (if inefficiently) enforcing its tax code.

chime 14y ago
Interest was just $65-$70 or so on the $500 'loan'. $3k was in accountant, tax attorney, paperwork fees. We also had to pay her school to send notarized transcripts to IRS because they wanted proof that she even went to school. And since the IRS letter arrived just 2 days before their deadline, we had to pay extra to the school to get it delivered overnight. Most annoying part is that Sallie Mae was the one that gave out the loan directly to her school. I'm not saying the citizenship was IRS fault. I said a $500 'loan' that I never asked for, had no intention of 'stealing', had no way to know was pending, ended up causing months of paperwork, hassles, and undue stress. It is appalling that people expect me to treat this like a wonderful tax refund instead of what it was - absolute waste of productive time. All of this could've been avoided by a single rule in IRS tax processing system that auto-sends a letter or email saying 'Our records show X yrs of Y lifetime credit have already been claimed. Please refile.' And I'm certain that I'm not the only person who had to go through a similar thing.

anigbrowl 14y ago

Because I didn't want the loan. What's not to understand. I wouldn't have had a problem paying the full amount if they had told me sooner. Also it was over 6% because it was 2+ years and not 3. You had the use of the money in the meantime, which has a value. As for the delay in your citizenship, IRS does not make that rule, it's written into the immigration law.