When Life Makes You Cuss...

I need to start by telling you that this a true story. And it also doesn't have a happy ending, yet-- or even an ending at all, really. And I also need to tell you that I know God is in all this with us, but it still just really sucks. I'm also telling you this in case you or someone you know might know what we should do. And even more, I'm telling you this, so you can see what happens and how God brought us through this, when we get to the other side.

So let's start at the beginning... in the early part of 2009, while I was pregnant with Max, Chad and I decided to look into buying a house because of the first time home buyers credit-- Chad had owned a home previously, so we worked really hard to get all my papers, bank account, and credit in order so that I could buy a home. We found a small little house, with plenty of room for a our little family, offered the guy who owned it much less than he was asking and he took it! In April of 2009, I closed on the house, completely in my name, with my small but suitable salary, and in we moved! We then amended our 2008 taxes, and re-file with the tax credit with the help of our accountant.

Well then a couple week ago, as in 2012.... in case you didn't notice that's three years later... I got a letter in the mail stating that the house credit was being questioned and to please send them all this information. So I scrambled to find every document that  had requested, rushed to Kinkos to copy it (because of course some of the documents from the house closing were on huge paper that had to be done on a special machine) and got it back in the mail to the IRS. Suffice it to say, since we did everything on the up and up and because I had every document they requested, and because I still own the home, and it's still only in my name, and we still live it in as our primary residence, I thought this was done and it didn't enter my mind again.

I was so wrong.

Last week, we got a letter in the mail stating that because Chad did own a home at one time, that I could not qualify for the home. Keep in mind that I never owned or even lived in the house Chad owned and that this house is only in my name. Then the letter said to please sign if I agreed and send them a check for $10,673.36-- that's $8,000 for the home buyer credit that they say we didn't qualify for, although I TOTALLY do, and then $2,673.36 for interest because somehow it is our fault that they, the wonderful IRS, is just now figuring this out, so naturally we owe them extra money three years later. Now I don't know about you, but even if we did agree that they were totally right and we took $8,000 that wasn't ours, me, this stay at home mom, and Chad, my contractor husband who is working in the building industry in the midst of the worse depression since the 1930's don't have $10,673.36 laying around to just send right over to the IRS. Not to mention that after speaking with our accountant who has done our taxes and the business taxes for years and years and years, and scouring the IRS website that he sent our way that answers every questions about the tax credit, we canNOT find one place, where it even might be questionable for me, myself, and I to buy a house by myself, my very first house ever, in the year 2009 and then qualify for the credit. No matter how many ways we read it, we qualify.

So now I'm working on the perfect letter, full of respect and explanation to mail to them as to why the IRS is dumb and makes me want to cuss and why I will not be sending them $10,673.36-- or any other amount for that matter, in a totally upstanding and wise way. This is so aggravating and infuriating for many reasons-- let me list a few:

1) We use an accountant who knows all our stuff-- business/ personal, etc.... who never has heard of something like this and didn't see this as a problem
2) The upstanding, honest realtor who sold Chad's house and then helped me buy this one just over a year later, knew the ins and outs of this credit, and helped us to do it
3) We pay many many many thousands of dollars to the IRS each year, writing big fat horrid checks as it is because Chad is self-employed
4) They want to charge me three years of interest for something because they're just now finding it
5) They want us to give them the money that they used to lure first-time home buyers like me to buy a house to boast the economy-- I did my part and bought the home, but they don't want to hold up their end of the deal

So if you can't tell, this gets me all worked up and gets my panties in a wad like no other! I don't know the answer or the outcome, and what really gets me is that I don't know what God is doing here--  And just so you know, this hit in the same week that we got a $1200 bill from Jack's surgery this past August-- and we've already paid over $4000 out of pocket for that.... AND a $600 bill from the ER visit in Texas for Jack's RSV. Now really, it's just money, I get that-- and I don't really even care much about it-- but we worked really really hard to get where we are-- paid off debt, cut monthly expenses as much as possible, and trying to be wise stewards of what God has given us.... but like I said from the start, sometimes, life just makes you want to cuss! But instead, I'm just going to looking to God for answers and keep doing my part-- my friend Jen tweeted this verse my way yesterday and I just had to pause and rest in the truth:

jenniferhwillis jennifer willis 

@Lbowman24- praying you will present info you need and God will do the rest. Ex14:14 The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still

So.....
If you have a few thousand dollars laying around that you'd like to send our way, let me know!

Or if you know Uncle Sam personally and you could handle this for us, let me know!

Or if you have a great thought that we haven't thought of yet, let me know.

Or if you'd just like to pray for us, that'd be great too :)

I'll let you know the outcome- regardless of what it is, The Lord will work it out for us-- even if it is opening up our hands and our wallets.