Unpaid state & federal debts could mean smaller refunds
Thursday, March 07, 2019
Singer-songwriter R. Kelly is (once again) facing serious criminal charges, but a more common complaint is what has landed him in jail.
The 52-year-old R&B singer was arrested March 6 after a court hearing that he failed to pay more than $161,000 in back child support. (Update: Kelly was released from jail on March 9 after making the overdue support payments.)
Incarceration for failure to meet court-ordered family payments happens and to folks who are much less (in)famous than Kelly.
However, in many cases such familial financial oversights tend to be resolved during tax-filing time.
Money owed Uncle Sam or a variety of state officials is deducted from the debtors' federal income tax refund amounts.
Old debts eat into current refunds: Officially, these paid-from-refund amounts are known as offsets.
The U.S. Treasury, which is boss to the IRS, is able to grab part or all of taxpayers' refunds to pay some outstanding federal or state debts by offsetting a payment, like a tax refund, that the debtor is set to receive.
The offset process is handled by the aptly-named Treasury Offset Program, or TOP, which is run by the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, BFS.
Congress has authorized BFS via TOP to use part or all — that's worth repeating: part or all — of a tax refund to pay certain other debts. This means, pardon my acronym French, such taxpayers are SOL (or simply outta luck if you want to go for a G acronym).
Debts that can be collected from federal tax refunds include:
- Federal tax debts, such as previous federal income tax you didn't pay.
- Federal agency debts like a delinquent student loan.
- State income tax obligations.
- Past-due child and spousal support.
- Certain unemployment compensation debts owed to a state.
The program has been successful. In fiscal year 2018, TOP programs recovered more than $2.9 billion in delinquent debts.
The offset collection process: In the case of delinquent child support, state agencies alert the Health and Human Services Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), which reports the certified overdue amounts (along with the debtor's name and Social Security number, to the U.S. Treasury.
When Treasury processes tax refunds, it checks the OCSE data for those who owe past-due support and intercepts all or part of the tax refund. Treasury then sends the intercepted or offset funds through OCSE to the state child support agency to pay the past-due support.
It works basically the same with other creditor agencies at all levels, such as the Department of Education when it comes to unpaid student loans or state tax departments when filers don't pay at that level.
In all cases, federal or state agencies submit their delinquent debts as payment vouchers to BFS for collection and inclusion in TOP.
The creditors' vouchers must certify that such debts qualify for collection offset and must contain information about the payment, including the Tax Identification Number (TIN) and name of the recipient.
Click image for FAQ on TOP from the BFS.
Using this info, TOP officials compare the refund payment information with debtor information that's stored in BFS' delinquent debtor database. Where a refund recipient's TIN and name match that of a debtor cited on a submitted voucher, TOP offsets — withholds — payment — tax refund — to satisfy the debt.
Just how much is offset from a tax refund is, per the TOP's words, "to the extent legally allowed." In some cases, Treasury can take tax refund money to pay all of a qualifying unpaid debt. In other, only a percentage or the money due can be taken from a tax refund.
Look for the notice: Either way, the offset bite to a tax refund can be a big, unwelcome surprise.
However, it shouldn't have been.
Part of the offset process requires the BFS to send affected taxpayers a notice alerting them that it is taking part or all of their federal refunds to pay other debts.
The notice will list the original refund and offset amounts. It will also include the agency that received the offset payment and its contact information.
If you didn't get a notice, call the BFS' TOP center toll-free at (800) 304-3107 or (800) 877-8339 if you are hearing impaired and, after making your language choice, punch 1 for further instructions.
Your rights as a debtor: As with other issues involving Uncle Sam's handling of your money, for example your taxpayer rights when dealing with the IRS, you also have rights when it comes to refund offsets.
The TOP notice must explain these rights and opportunities to dispute the debt to the owing taxpayer.
This includes the right to examine and request copies of agency records regarding the debt.''
You also can request an administrative review of the determination of indebtedness.
Or you can negotiate a compromise payment deal or set up a repayment plan acceptable to the agency to which you owe the money.
And if you believe you don't owe the debt or you want to dispute it, don't contact the BFS or IRS. They are just the collection agents. You need to go to the debtor, the agency that sent the offset requite to TOP.
To have and to hold debt: Also note that when your file a joint return, any old unpaid federal debts your spouse incurred likely will affect you, too.
There might be, however, a way out of such a reduced refund predicament.
Say, for example, your spouse missed her child support payments for her kids from a previous relationship and you don't think you should suffer a refund loss because of it. The IRS might agree.
You might be entitled to part or all of the refund that was reduced by the offset in cases where your spouse is solely responsible for the debt. In these cases, you need to make your case to the IRS that you are an injured spouse.
Do that by filing Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, with the IRS to request your part of the offset refund.
You may file Form 8379 with your original joint tax return, with your amended joint tax return or by itself after you are notified of an offset. Details on filing for a portion of a refund reduced by a husband's or wife's debt are found in the form's instructions.
An injured spouse also can use the IRS' online Interactive Tax Assistant, specifically the section on "Can I or My Spouse Claim Part of a Refund Being Applied toward a Debt Owed by the Other Spouse?" This will help you decide whether to file a claim for part of a refund jointly applied toward a spouse's past due debt for which he or she is solely responsible.
You also might find these items of interest:
- What to do if your tax refund is wrong
- The many ways a refund can go astray
- Married couples filing joint returns share all tax liability, too
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thankyou so much for sharing this useful article. this has helped a lot. keep writing. hope to read many such articles in future.
Posted by: Ishika Agarwal | Friday, March 08, 2019 at 01:43 PM