If my husband and I received IRS penalty notices do we owe just the one amount?

You can actually call them. I’ve called about matters. They’re very helpful and polite in my experience.

I will call on Monday. I actually called 6 weeks ago asking if I will owe a penalty and the rep said she wasn’t 100% sure, but she said she didn’t think so, just pay what I owe in full by April 15th and I won’t be penalized. She reassured me that she had worked for the IRS many years, and since a lot of the income was interest and dividends I shouldn’t owe anything she has never seen a penalty if you pay in full.

I had called the IRS, because my EA said I don’t owe any interest or penalty, and I didn’t trust her opinion.

Then, when I received my tax return from the EA she had a form filled out saying I owed $1,000 in penalties. I asked her why she filled out the sheet if I supposedly don’t owe any penalty according to her, and she replied since I brought it up she filled it out.

Ugh. It’s so triggering for me. I HATE knowing more than professionals in their field. I don’t feel at all like I know it all, just the opposite. Just enough to not trust. Just enough so I am right a lot, but of course not always.

So, I read up and asked an accountant friend a couple of Q’s and told my EA to delete that page and I’ll wait to see if the IRS penalizes me. I asked if I owe a penalty if it will continue to increase after April 15th, and people told me no, but I didn’t completely trust it, but I risked it.

Now, I received two notices that are actually $502 each, not like the $100 example in the OP and since my EA’s number was $1,000 (I’m rounding) it’s so close to double that it is confusing.

I guess the IRS can check the account and tell me concretely under both my husband’s SS# and mine how much is owed and it won’t be just some sort of educated or uneducated guess this time. That is why I will call.

Frustrating.

I feel like the notice should clearly state if this is a joint return a copy is sent to the other spouse but only pay the one amount, if that is the case, but it doesn’t.

$100

Since it has only your husband’s SS#, it would be logical it is only the $502 But like @Hawaii_Jake said call they are very nice in person and on the phone….

When filing jointly, their computer sends a notice to each concerned party, but it shouldn’t be that they divide the amounts required in half and ask each party for their share.

So don’t double it.

There’s also a potential confusion because what you owe them is one thing, and the amount of any penalty is another. In the cases where I owed them an actual penalty (for not having filed any estimated quarterly payments), on top of what I owed them, the penalty itself tended to be quite small. Penalties for an estimation mistake tend to only apply if you’ve made a mistake multiple years in a row, or something.

How did they notify you?

@seawulf575 Two letters. One addressed to my husband’s name and one to me. Exactly the same letter.

@Zaku I should have sent in more taxes during the year, it’s a two part mistake we made. 1. My husband failed to fill his W4 to take out extra, which we usually do to cover the earnings I make, plus if we have some extra interest and dividends. 2. I put a lot of money in a fund that I was told was tax free but it wasn’t. Plus, we made more than usual in interest anyway.

I assumed it was the one amount not to double it, but wanted to be sure. Kind of like a married couple both own their house 100%.

Call them to be sure, but if you filed jointly it is one sum. They sent out two letters because as a co-filer, you are both liable for the amount. They have to notify both of you.

@seawulf575 That seems to be the consensus. That was my guess too, but it should explicitly say it in my opinion to reduce phone calls to the IRS.

@JLeslie Yeah, I’m echoing what everyone already said. I was more concerned about how they notified you because there is a current scam going on about e-mails and texts going out to people from the “IRS”. They look real but the IRS doesn’t contact anyone via e-mail or text for collections things.

@seawulf575 I knew what you were worried about. Thanks for checking. :)

Call the IRS.