South Florida teacher says IRS wrongly seized $133,000 retirement fund, advocate finds tax debt was created in error

South Florida teacher Michelle Del Buono says she spent years saving for retirement. Now, she's fighting to recover more than $133,000 that she says the Internal Revenue Service improperly seized from her investment account.

"It's like a big weight on my shoulders that can't seem to break off," Del Buono told CBS News Miami.

Del Buono said her troubles began in September when she received a letter from the IRS after filing an amended 2024 tax return to claim a deduction she had initially overlooked. The notice stated she owed roughly $118,000 in taxes, but did not explain how the agency arrived at that figure.

"I was like, what am I doing? What did I do wrong? I don't even make that kind of money," Del Buono said.

She said repeated attempts to resolve the issue directly with the IRS led nowhere.

"I decided to call the IRS and call and call and call," she said. "They kept saying they had a case on me, then they closed the case, and then they reopened the case."

In January, Del Buono received another notice informing her that penalties had been added, increasing the amount owed to more than $127,000. The notice also warned that the IRS could seize her assets. After the agency withdrew funds from her investment account, additional penalties and interest were assessed, bringing the total amount taken to more than $133,000.

Her attorney, Steve Klitzner, said the January notice appeared to be the final collection notice typically sent before a levy is issued. However, he argues the IRS failed to provide earlier notices explaining the alleged debt or how it was calculated.

"They should have sent her a series of letters, and they skipped them all," Klitzner said.

"She made no mistakes. Somebody entered the wrong number."

CBS News Miami asked the IRS why Del Buono's funds were seized. An agency spokesperson declined to discuss a specific taxpayer's account but said the matter was referred to the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service.

A day after CBS News Miami contacted the agency, Klitzner said he received a letter from a taxpayer advocate acknowledging problems with the case.

According to the letter, the advocate found that "the tax liability was increased in error" and that the IRS "failed to send your client a notice or letter explaining the adjustment made to the account that resulted in a higher balance due."

The letter did not explain how the erroneous tax liability was created.

Del Buono said that because the IRS has already seized her money, the burden now falls on her to prove she does not owe the debt.

"I could not do it by myself," she said. "It's like going against a monopoly. You can't do anything. Either you pay it or that's it."

The taxpayer advocate told Del Buono she plans to ask the IRS to reopen the case and will follow up with her in July.

Klitzner said taxpayers facing disputes with the IRS should seek legal representation as early as possible.

"It's much easier to stop the money from being taken than it is to get it back after it's already gone," he said.