Man gets refund of four cents from IRS and owes five cents

A lawyer in Detroit received a letter in November telling him that he owes the IRS five cents and that he must pay to avoid late fees. Then he got a letter telling him that the government owes him four cents but he won't get the refund unless he requests it because it's under a dollar.

Howarth said he's not sure if there is a connection between the two notices, or if the refund represents a recalculation of the original bill.

The perplexed lawyer said he called an IRS 800 telephone number but gave up after spending a long time on hold.

I wonder what the interest and fees would be on five cents? And does he owe five cents or one cent?