Why did I get money from the IRS today

Got money from the IRS today? There are a few reasons why that might have happened, and we’re here to explain why such a transaction occurred.

A few weeks after the start of the tax season, the American Rescue Plan brought some changes to taxes where the unemployment compensation received up to $10,200 wouldn’t be taxable. By then, many taxpayers have filed their tax returns and received their tax refunds, or at least the IRS issued their refunds. The taxpayers that qualified for the exclusion but filed their returns were left out, and unless they amended their returns right away, this made them miss out on this write-off.

The Internal Revenue Service automatically issued the excess refund to those that didn’t owe the IRS and sent it on August 18. If you’ve seen the IRS Treas 310 Tax Ref 081821 on your bank transactions, know that the money received is the tax refund associated with your unclaimed unemployment compensation waiver. 

Other reasons for receiving money from the IRS

Similar to the unemployment compensation waiver, a change in the tax law that you were too early or late to react can cause the IRS to send money to your bank account. This is generally due to an excess refund that you didn’t receive after a change. 

If you didn’t receive unemployment benefits from your state but still received money from the IRS, take a look at the transaction code as you can see why the money was sent. 

How do I know if there wasn’t a mistake?

If you received money from the IRS out of nowhere and no other taxpayer is reporting the same, there is a minor chance of the transaction being a mistake. The best thing to do in such a situation is to contact the IRS by phone. An IRS representative can tell you why you received money from the IRS suddenly and the reason behind it. 

Unless there isn’t a mistake, we highly suggest not touching the money until you know that it’s rightfully yours. Some errors can occur with the transactions, such as the IRS sending funds to the wrong person – as it happened once to a Tampa resident in 2019, where the person received $980,000 in tax refund despite reporting an income of $18,497. Since these kinds of errors can cause major issues, it’s best to not see them.