Hmmm...that's odd. Maybe I overpaid by a few dollars by mistake. Maybe I'm getting $10 back or $100 if I made a mistake. Let's see. You rip open the envelope and find this!:
Needless to say, I am overjoyed and panicked at the same time. Overjoyed because I can think of some luxuries I'm going to spend that on but panicked because I'm sure the IRS made a huge mistake. In my panic I called my accountant. First I asked him if there was a logical explanation for this, and he said no. So I told him I didn't want to risk keeping it if it was a mistake and asked him if I should call the IRS. He offered to call for me and then called me right back.
It was a mistake.
Some one at the IRS entered the numbers wrong when they processed my taxes and I have to send it back. The irony here is that because I guessed on my quarterly taxes wrong and underpaid last year (which is why I owed so much in April), I am subject to a penalty of about $200 if the IRS feels inclined to bill me for it. I hope after sending all this money back to them and not cashing their big, fat, $4,600 mistake, they are kind enough to reward me by NOT making me pay a penalty.
And by the way, IRS, you are big fat tease!