How to Get Interest Abated from the IRS After Receiving Unwanted Advanced Child Tax Credits

You're dealing with a tricky but not uncommon situation. The Advanced Child Tax Credit payments were automatically issued based on your previous year's tax return information, and the IRS did send notices (Letter 6417) to recipients, but those obviously don't always reach people who've moved internationally. For interest abatement, you're on the right track thinking about administrative errors. The IRS can abate interest under IRC Section 6404(e) if the interest accrued due to an unreasonable IRS error or delay. Your argument about them failing to properly notify you before depositing funds you didn't request while you were living abroad could potentially qualify. When you contact them, emphasize that you never requested these payments, had moved internationally (which the IRS wouldn't have known), and that you took prompt action once you became aware of the issue. Be specific that you're requesting interest abatement under Section 6404(e) due to the IRS's failure to ensure you were properly notified before sending unrequested funds. You might need to file Form 843 (Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement) and clearly explain your circumstances. Include any documentation showing your international move dates to strengthen your case.

I went through something similar with the Advanced Child Tax Credits while living in Germany! I found an amazing service that helped me sort through all my tax transcript issues. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze all my IRS notices and transcripts, and it actually found several errors in how the IRS had calculated my liability. The tool broke down exactly why I was being charged interest and gave me the specific regulation citations to reference when calling the IRS. It saved me hours of research and frustration! The transcript analysis pointed out that the IRS had my foreign address on file from a previous form but still sent notices to my old US address. Their AI tool flagged this discrepancy immediately and suggested I use it as evidence of administrative error when requesting interest abatement. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to make sense of complex IRS documents.

I was super skeptical about taxr.ai when I first saw it mentioned here, but I was desperate dealing with an IRS interest charge on my foreign bank accounts that I didn't report properly. Decided to give it a shot last month. Wow, was I wrong to be skeptical! The analysis found that the IRS had actually received my FBAR filing through FinCEN but hadn't properly updated my account. The report gave me the exact transaction dates and processing codes to reference when calling the IRS. When I called, I sounded like I knew exactly what I was talking about (I didn't, I was just reading from the report lol). The IRS agent actually said "you've clearly done your homework" and removed over $900 in interest charges because they agreed there had been a processing error on their end. For anyone dealing with international tax issues and interest charges, it's definitely worth trying.

If you're still struggling with the IRS about this interest issue, you might want to try Claimyr. I was in a similar situation with foreign income reporting issues and couldn't get through to anyone at the IRS for weeks. I used https://claimyr.com and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with was actually really helpful once I finally got through to a real person. She looked at my account notes and saw that they had my foreign address on file from a previous form submission but had still been sending notices to my old address. She immediately recognized this as an administrative error and processed an interest abatement on the spot. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting to speak with someone who has the authority to help!

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I tried Claimyr yesterday after posting my skeptical comment, and it actually worked. I'd been trying to reach the IRS for weeks about interest charges on my expat taxes. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 30 minutes. I explained my situation about being charged interest on tax credits that were automatically deposited while I was living in Japan, and how I never received proper notification. The agent listened to my whole story and actually agreed that this qualified as an administrative error! She put in the request for interest abatement right there on the call, and I should be getting a revised statement in a few weeks. She also gave me her direct ID number to reference if there are any follow-up issues. I guess sometimes it really is just about getting through to the right person who can actually help. Still shocked it worked after all my failed attempts.

Just wanted to share - I got my interest fully abated in a similar situation by specifically citing Internal Revenue Manual 20.2.7.7, which covers interest abatement due to IRS errors or delays. The key was documenting that they had my foreign address from my FBAR filing but still sent important notices to my old US address. I also referenced the Taxpayer Bill of Rights which includes the right to be informed. Since the IRS didn't properly inform you about these payments while you were overseas, you have a strong case!

Be careful with interest abatement requests. I tried similar arguments last year and got rejected because I technically had online access to my IRS account and "should have" checked it. Make sure u document EVERYTHING and be super specific about why this was an IRS error not just confusion on ur part.