Lein on me...

I pay an accountant to do my corporate and personal taxes. She's a licensed CPA and we usually work via email. I scan and send documents to her and things that require original signature go by US postal Service. I'll mail checks to her for services. We are both good with this arrangement and have been doing it for years.

Last year, I received a letter from the IRS stating I didn't pay all the 3rd quarter tax. They found an error in the calculation. She missed adding a number from a previous column to the total. My accountant review it and apologized for the error. I mailed the check to the IRS two weeks before the due date. It went out certified mail.

Saturday, I received a letter from the IRS threatening to seize my property for non-payment.

I went online to review my bank statement and my check cleared 20 days after it was mailed and 3 days before they sent out the notice. What irked me was it took more than 2 weeks for them to receive my payment. Obviously a postal delay.

Monday was a legal holiday, but the first thing today was to call and find out what happened. The agent I spoke to stated the account now has a zero balance and the interest and penalty had been removed. She noted my account in the event 'the left hand didn't figure out what the right hand was (or wasn't) doing' so I have no repercussions.

I prefer mailing checks, but in future I would consider going online to make an electronic payment... that way, they won't lien on me!

Summary: I dislike the threat, and not a "did you receive the first notice? Please send a check" Certainly the post office taking weeks for a certified letter when it should have been 2-3 days or mail mis-delivered that happens a few times a month.