Hacker News Reader

Comment by Hannan | Hacker News Reader

>> If less tax was paid than required you have to pay that + interest...which really isn't that unreasonable.

If I pay too much, do I get interest back on the overage?

I got paid interest because the IRS took longer than they were supposed to when they processed my return claiming the first time homeowner credit. I wasn't expecting it, and I certainly wasn't expecting the interest rate I was paid to be higher than any non-credit-card interest rate, but it was.

I treated myself to a bottle of Lagavulin 16 and a couple good cigars.

If you made the mistake of paying too much, why would the government be liable for the interest on that error?

It's not so much of a mistake, per se, but a function of dealing with estimated tax payments as a self-employed person with fluctuating income. I could very easily pay the amounts required, and then suffer a bad Q4 and have a much lower tax obligation than what I've paid in, all while meeting the mandatory minimums that the IRS requires me to pay quarterly.

Of course, I'm not allowed to just pay the full amount when due, which would solve the problem (for me, but potentially cause much larger problems for people and the government w.r.t. those who don't/can't budget appropriately).

It is nice to hear (from fotbr) that in the case of an actual mistake on behalf of the IRS that they actually pay interest... I did not know that, and wouldn't have expected it.

Yes, usually.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com