COOPERTOWN, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Coopertown, Tennessee, man says the IRS sent him a $20,000 tax refund by mistake — and that trying to return it cost him years of frustration, interest charges, and eventually his entire tax refund.
Wilson Perry Kirby, 76, a retired Montgomery County Highway Department worker who describes himself as plain-spoken and country, received the erroneous refund on May 10, 2022. He says he immediately tried to give the money back, but ran into wall after wall, even with his accountant's help.
"She didn't make a mistake, I didn't make a mistake, they made a mistake," Kirby said.
After years of back and forth with the agency, Kirby says the IRS not only charged him interest on the money he had tried to return — it kept his entire refund this year.
"Oh, I cried. It hurt me," Kirby said.
The IRS would not discuss the specifics of Kirby's case because of federal privacy law.
Kirby says he reached out to everyone he could think of for help.
"I've tried the president, governor, mayor, they don't mind asking you to vote for them, but when you need help you can't get ahold of nobody," Kirby said.
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Kirby lost his wife, Norma Jean, in August 2024 and has been fighting the battle largely on his own since then.
"She knew how to text, she got a computer in there. I don't even know how to cut it on," Kirby said. "But she stuck by me and I wouldn't have what I have today."
Kirby says things finally started moving after I got involved. By the end of the month, he says he is expecting this year's refund, which would bring the case to a close.
"And if it hadn't been for you I wouldn't of gotten nothing done," Kirby said.
Kirby has also done significant advocating for himself throughout this process and never gave up — something he credits in part to his own stubbornness.
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"I'm hard-headed, and I get set in my ways, and I'm that way," Kirby said.
"Might've helped," I said.
"Yeah," Kirby said.
Running into problems with the IRS?
The Taxpayer Advocate Service can be a good first step. It is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers navigate issues and resolve problems.
This article was written by Hannah McDonald for the Scripps News Group station in Nashville.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
