IRS sends enormous refund -- for second straight year

MARSHALL, Mo. -- Getting a check from the Internal Revenue Service is usually a good thing. Diana Doss begs to differ.

For the second year in a row, she's been sent a refund check for almost $200,000. Sounds great, but Doss knows it's a mistake. Convincing the IRS of that, she says, has been difficult.

It all started last year when Doss received a tax refund for $192,816.32, a surprise for a woman who juggles jobs at a rehabilitation center and a local Wal-Mart.

So Doss contacted the IRS, which told her to write "VOID" across the check and send it back to the tax agency.

She did, thinking the matter was settled.

Not taking any chances, however, this year Doss simply sent in a 1040 form and her W-2s to the IRS to have them figure what she owed.

It didn't work, on June 3, an envelope from the IRS showed up in her mailbox. In it, another check for $188,368.44.

"When I open the mail, I'm just devastated," Doss said. "It's a lot of stress on me to try to get this straightened out, and they're not getting it straight."

More calls to the IRS have just left Doss even more frustrated. On Tuesday she was told again to write "VOID" across the check and send it back. But that's not good enough for Doss. Not this time.

Finally, Doss reached an IRS tax representative who told her what the root of the problem was, Doss said. A few years back, one of Doss' tax returns had a misplaced comma somewhere that led the IRS to believe she made $10 million, she said. The hefty refund checks are the result.

Even more disconcerting is that Doss doesn't know if she's missing out on a valid refund.

"They're not telling me they're going to fix it, they're just telling me to send it back in," Doss said.

Generally, when such mistakes are pointed out to the IRS, they're corrected without a problem, said Kris Moore, an IRS spokeswoman.

"In most instances the problem would be taken care of and that second check should not be issued," Moore said. "If we didn't fix the problem, I apologize for that."

If Doss, or someone else in a similar situation did cash the check, they would be responsible for repaying the total amount plus interest to the IRS, Moore said.

Doss plans to return the second check, but she wants some assurance that it won't happen again.

"I know better than to cash these checks because they're not mine," Doss said. "I'm trying to do the right thing. I want them to straighten it up so I don't get it again. It's like, what is our government doing?"