IOWA, USA — Approximately 300 Iowans may have received an incorrect federal tax return, following an error between the Iowa Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service. That's according to the Iowa Department of Revenue, which says a file was sent to the Internal Revenue Services with incorrect data for some Iowa taxpayers.
Rob Andrews is one of those Iowans. He says he checked on his federal tax refund on Thursday morning, only to find it was nearly $500 short of what he was originally anticipating.
"It was $483.25 was the difference," Andrews said.
He called the IRS to figure out what the issue was. Andrews says the IRS blamed the change on a move made by the Iowa Department of Revenue.
"The automated system told me that the Iowa Department of Revenue finance had offset my return and gave me a number to call."
Andrews followed up and called IDR, but said the representative told him he had no outstanding obligations on his account.
"She said, 'However due to a processing error some people's federal refunds were offset,'" Andrews said.
Local 5 News reached out to IDR, which provided the following statement:
"In January, the Iowa Department of Revenue sent a file to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that contained incorrect data for some Iowa taxpayers. When the error was discovered, a corrected file was sent to the IRS. The result of this error is that approximately 300 Iowans who filed their federal tax returns did not get the correct federal refund.
The Iowa Department of Revenue is confirming errors and working with affected taxpayers to resolve the issue.
The Department has already begun refunding the correct amount to these taxpayers. We apologize for these errors and are working diligently to make it right as quickly as we can."
Andrews is hoping to get this issue figured out sooner than later, saying the nearly $500 is money he deserves in his pocket.
"Given the house I live in, it's an all-electric house and my electrical bill just for last month alone was $400."
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