The Balentines maintain they have paid their 2017 taxes in full. “The IRS has simply not yet ‘allowed’ such payment,” they said. “Whether allowed or not, payment has undeniably been made. The IRS simply refuses to acknowledge that overpayment.”
Filing and Overpayments
The Balentines filed their complaint in March 2023, arguing that Flora doesn’t apply when the IRS owes a refund for overpayments the agency must automatically credit toward assessed taxes. The government responded by asserting that it hadn’t determined whether the 2017 taxes were overpaid, creating a jurisdictional issue blocking the suit. The district court sided with the government.
According to their brief, the Balentines overpaid their 2014 taxes by $50,000 and their 2016 taxes by $420,000. For 2017, they filed a joint return showing a nearly $500,000 overpayment, requesting $200,000 be applied toward their 2018 estimated taxes and nearly $300,000 be refunded.
5th Circuit Bar Refund Suit : IRS Calculation Errors
The IRS had already calculated the Balentines’ 2017 tax liabilities before they filed their return and sent a letter in November 2020 stating Jay Balentine owed $1.2 million for 2017. This figure has since been recalculated to about $480,000, the brief noted.
