‘I’m not going to jail’: Woman woke up to an extra $5,337 from the IRS, spent days trying to return it, then the internet stepped in

A TikTok user named Sarah, who goes by @lilsaltine7, recently went viral after sharing a strange experience with an unexpected IRS deposit. She woke up one morning to find $5,337 in her bank account that she did not think belonged to her. The money appeared to be a tax refund, but she had already received her refund for the year. Plus, this new amount was much larger than what she had gotten before. Her video ended up getting over 311,600 views.

Sarah immediately tried to return the money. She called the IRS but could not get through to an actual person. She then called her bank, only to be passed between several departments with no real answer. At one point, she was transferred to someone who, by the sound of it, was in the bathroom. After going through what she described as “7,000 different departments,” she still had no clear solution.

Frustrated and out of options, Sarah told her followers she had decided to keep the money for the time being. According to Brobible, in a follow-up video, after learning about a family that had accidentally deposited money and later faced legal trouble, Sarah made her position clear. “I’m not going to jail. Y’all can go to jail, okay? I’m not going to jail,” she said. That one line captured exactly how she felt after days of getting nowhere.

Someone on the internet had the exact phone number she needed

What happened next is where the story takes a turn. After her TikTok video picked up attention online, someone in her comments sent her not just a phone number to call, but a specific extension for the right person who could handle her case. “That’s what I needed: an extension to call,” Sarah said. With that one piece of information, she was finally able to confirm that the deposit was indeed a mistake. She then moved forward with returning the money.

According to the IRS, this kind of situation is more common than people might think. When a taxpayer receives a refund that is larger than expected or one they were not supposed to receive at all, the agency calls it an erroneous refund. The IRS advises people in this situation to contact the ACH department at their bank and request that the funds be sent back.

They should also call the IRS directly to explain the reason for the return. This comes at a time when the agency has been dealing with significant internal pressure, including reports that over 6,000 IRS workers were let go in the middle of tax season, which has made it even harder for taxpayers to get through to a real person.

For those who might be tempted to just keep the money, the IRS is clear about the consequences. According to CNN, erroneous refunds must be returned. If they are not, the agency can charge interest, apply penalties, take collection actions, or even take legal steps to recover the funds.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also notes that once a bank realizes it sent funds in error, it has the ability to simply pull the money back from the account. The IRS has also recently been in the news for other reasons, with a report revealing that the agency shared confidential taxpayer files with immigration authorities, raising fresh questions about how taxpayer data is being handled.

Sarah’s case ended well. She returned the money and avoided any legal trouble. But her experience put a spotlight on how hard it can be to navigate government phone systems when you are genuinely trying to do the right thing.