For Jeff Fray of Reedsburg, a tiny investment in a California oil well has turned into a big headache -- and for that, he blames the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

Fray said the electronic form on which he declared that he 'd paid $86 in California taxes on the income from the oil well wasn 't accepted by the Department of Revenue 's computer system. As a result, the agency erroneously billed the retired air-traffic controller and his wife for the same amount -- in effect turning a tax credit into a tax liability.

"They are billing us for the $86 that they had previously credited us for, " Fray said.

Fray is one of 1,200 Wisconsin taxpayers affected by two computer glitches, said Jessica Iverson, spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue. Iverson said the first problem occurred when the state 's computer system was unable to read the electronic form filed by some taxpayers seeking credits for paying out-of-state taxes, the Schedule OS.

"There was a software vendor with whom we were having troubling reading that schedule, " Iverson said. "This is the first time this schedule was offered electronically. What happened is we were not able to accept this information from that schedule. "

The problem was compunded, Iverson said, when this same group was erroneously sent notices without any explanation that they owed additional state taxes that were due by the end of the month. She said those taxpayers should have first received a notice explaining why the agency believed they owed more taxes and given instructions on how to contest the amount and a 60-day period in which to do it. Those letters will be arriving to that group of taxpayers next week, she said.

But Fray said he shouldn 't have to appeal to get the state to fix a problem for which it 's already acknowledged responsibility.

"Instead of just doing an easy correction on this, I have to go through the whole appeals process to get this off my taxes, " he said. "Not only are they wasting my time, they 're wasting their time. "

Fray said while he was sophisticated enough to figure out that the problem was related to his out-of-state tax credit, he worries about other taxpayers who may be more harried or less savvy. He provided a copy of the four-page mailing, which included a voucher for him to enclose his payment. The letter warns that the full amount must be received by the end of the month or the department will levy a minimum $35 fee or 6.5 percent penalty for late payment.

"I imagine somebody who 's 75 and they get something from the state, they probably think, Oh my God, I 've got to pay this right away, ' " Fray said.

Iverson said taxpayers will get instructions on how to correct the problem in the letters they will receive next week. She said the affected filers will need to follow the appeals process because the Department of Revenue still needs the information to ensure they qualify for the tax credit. She was unable to describe the steps taxpayers will need to take to correct the problem, citing a lack of agency staff available to answer that question early Friday evening.

Iverson noted that the problem affects a tiny percentage of the 3 million Wisconsinites who file tax returns. That 's cold comfort to Fray.

"I paid taxes to California. Wisconsin should credit me for that. That should be the end of it, " Fray said. "Now, you 're making it my problem so I have to appeal the whole thing. "