The IRS is claiming I owe a lot of money on a 401K.  in 2008 I started a company and did not roll over a 401K account, worth about 30K, so now they are hitting me up with a 28K penalty? WTF?

delete all emails and burn documents, oops sorry my hard drive has been destroyed.  works for them.

Seriously I would get a lawyer unless you can prove you are in the right.

When you left your old company did you cash out your 401k or did you just leave the money alone?  If you cashed it out, why didn't you roll it over to an IRA?

You can contact either an attorney or an enrolled agent that practices before the IRS for assistance.

But I'm kinda baffled by your OP, if you cash out a 401K then the amount is added to your income, and in addition, has a 10% penalty added to it. Can't say if that, plus penalties and interest add up to $28K or not but obviously you would owe some money to them.

You really should contact a professional to represent you however, as there may be some question about whether or not the statute of limitations for the IRS to assess has run.

ETA:

The taxes add up quickly. Since it is regular income and employer does not pay SS portion, you owe the full ~15%. add in 20% FedTax, 10% FedPenalty, before you know it you lost nearly 1/2 your investment.

Yep, RenegadeX, I did not mean I was baffled as to whether the total could reach the amount by now, I was baffled by OP's surprise at the IRS dunning him.