Wilson Perry Kirby never asked for the $20,000 that landed in his mailbox in the spring of 2022. The 76-year-old Coopertown farmer received the check from the IRS. He didn't spend a dime of it. He left it sitting untouched in his bank account and sought help from his accountant to correct the error. According to the Taxpayer Advocate Service's National Taxpayer Advocate Annual Report, approximately 104 million taxpayers (63%) received refunds, with an average refund amount of $3,167.
A Dispute That Outlasted a Marriage
A Dispute That Outlasted a Marriage
Kirby's late wife, Norma Jean Kirby, died in August 2024. The fight over the erroneous check didn't end with her passing — it dragged on for two more years, a detail that underscores just how long the couple wrestled with federal red tape over money they never wanted.
By this past July, the situation had turned punishing. An early July IRS notice stated that Kirby owed more than $2,500 in interest on the funds it mistakenly sent, withheld Kirby's current-year refund of $1,800 as collateral, and threatened to seize his property, according to Moneywise. In effect, the agency applied Kirby's own valid refund toward interest charges stemming from money it had sent him by mistake.
The Law the IRS Seemed to Ignore
That threat carried real legal teeth. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6331, the IRS can issue a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and move to seize real estate or personal property to satisfy unpaid tax debt 30 days after a demand notice goes out, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Unlike a lien, which merely attaches a claim to property, a levy allows the agency to physically seize assets or bank funds. According to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, the IRS can use a levy to satisfy a tax debt when a taxpayer does not respond to notices informing them of the debt and asking for payment.
The interest charges themselves became a central issue in the dispute. Kirby's case also involved a meeting with the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The Internal Revenue Service provides general information about levies. According to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, taxpayers can dispute interest attributed to an unreasonable IRS error or delay by submitting Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request.
A Viral Broadcast Changes Everything
Kirby's case sat largely unresolved until NewsChannel 5 reporter Hannah McDonald's investigative broadcast on the dispute aired in May, drawing public attention. That attention became the turning point that stalled administrative complaints often need to move forward.
The broadcast caught the attention of country music artist John Rich, who was appointed by President Trump as United States Special Envoy for American Landowners in July. Rich became involved after the local coverage and helped with Kirby's case, while his Wikipedia biography identifies him as a country music artist.
A Farmer's Long Record of Paying on Time
Before turning to farming full time, Kirby spent years working for the Montgomery County Highway Department while having a history of paying his taxes on time — a history that stood in sharp contrast to the thousands the IRS claimed he owed. Coopertown, where Kirby farms, was the Tennessee town at the center of the dispute.
The case was eventually resolved after NewsChannel 5's coverage and Rich's involvement.
Kirby's case is closed, but it raises a broader question that remains open: how many other taxpayers face similar interest charges over IRS-originated errors without a viral broadcast or a celebrity envoy to intervene on their behalf.
