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Fat refund for fraud-based tax payments

October 21, 2007

HealthSouth Corp., the Alabama-based hospital chain, last week pocketed a $440 million federal tax refund.

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The money back was in connection with taxes HealthSouth paid on $2.7 billion in fraudulent profits. The IRS issued the refund because the taxes were assessed on profits that were not real.

The check was for $296 million in overpayments and $144 million in interest.

This is one case where I’m glad that Uncle Sam got use of the improperly paid tax money for at least a little while.

More on the overpayment refund can be found in this New York Times story.

HealthSouth wasn’t so lucky, though, back in August, when it tried to collect on excess property tax payments.

In that instance, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the Birmingham-based company wasn’t entitled to a $900,000 property tax refund for fraud-inflated levies paid in 2001 and 2002.

More on the property tax smackdown can be found in this Birmingham News article.

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TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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