Tennessee farmer says IRS mistakenly sent him $20k, then allegedly started threatening to seize his farm

A 76-year-old Tennessee farmer says his property is at risk of being seized after the IRS mistakenly sent him a $20k refund back in 2022. Wilson Perry Kirby claims he immediately tried to send the money back, but years later he’s still dealing with the consequences as the IRS expects him to pay interest on the money he was mistakenly sent.

The huge $20,000 refund appeared in Kirby’s account on May 10, 2022. Newschannel5.com reported that he attempted to return the money immediately and even enlisted the help of his accountant to give it back. “She didn’t make a mistake, I didn’t make a mistake, they made a mistake,” Kirby said.

However, Kirby says that the IRS charged him interest on the $20k that he was trying to return rather than resolving the issue. The agency, which recently faced a $10 billion lawsuit from the president, apparently kept $1,800 of Kirby’s tax refund earlier this year and are still hounding him to pay $4,300 (and growing) interest that they claim he owes.

The IRS threatened to seize Kirby’s property

According to News Channel 5, the IRS has not publicly addressed Kirby’s case due to federal privacy law. The 76-year-old farmer has tried everything to solve the problem: “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.”

In May, Kirby received a call from U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s office telling him that the issue had been resolved. However, it seems they were mistaken, as the letters from the IRS didn’t stop, and in July, a notice was reportedly sent to Kirby demanding he pay the $4,300 or risk having his property seized.

Kirby revealed that he had been receiving letters from all over the country: “One said it came from Utah. They’re like AT&T; they come from all over the United States.” He has since met with the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service in Nashville to discuss his case.

“I wish they would get it straightened out. And get one person to work on it, instead of sending these letters from all over the United States,” Kirby said, claiming that the emotional toll of the whole experience has left him drained. “I’ve cried, I’m ’bout to cry right now, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.

Channel 5 was able to connect Wilson Perry Kirby with a tax attorney who deals with IRS disputes, and the IRS itself has since agreed to contact the farmer to hopefully settle the issue for good.