Lost, strayed or ... hiding?

[hrj]

So you know how last year I went through the annoyance of reporting my federal tax refund check as lost or strayed and getting a replacement? Well, recently cryptocosm was going through a stack of ski magazines of his(in preparation for tossing them out) that had been delivered to my address (subscription address never updated from when he lived there) and guess what he found wedged in the interior of one of the magazines? I'm not sure whether the proper protocol is to let the IRS know and return it or simply to destroy it. I'll probably settle for destroying it (burning seems nice and foolproof) since my past experience is that explaining these sorts of things to government agencies is rarely worth the trouble. But it's still a good argument for using direct deposit for my refunds.

And on a random note, this week's Mystery Produce is ... "drumsticks". (Moringa pterygosperma or M. oleifera) They were located in the bean section, but this seems to be purely due to shape and not biology, taste, or usage. They're on schedule to be prepared and tasted Wednesday, at which time I'll report further.

Comments

[madfilkentist]

The check was reported as lost. Run it through a shredder, burn it, or both (not simultaneously). Telling the IRS about it will just confuse the trained hamsters.

Direct deposit means giving the IRS access to your bank account; they could, in principle, reclaim your refund if they decided they'd made a mistake. I'd be cautious about that option.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Telling the IRS about it will just confuse the trained hamsters.

That's my feeling about it.