Here are seven important facts the IRS wants you to know about tax refund
offsets:
1.
If you owe federal or state
income taxes your refund will be offset to pay those taxes. If you had other
debt such as child support or student loan debt that was submitted for offset,
FMS will take as much of your refund as is needed to pay off the debt, and send
it to the agency authorized to collect the debt. Any portion of your refund
remaining after an offset will be refunded to you.
2.
You will receive a notice
if an offset occurs. The notice will reflect the original refund amount, your
offset amount, the agency receiving the payment, and the address and telephone
number of the agency.
3.
You should contact the
agency shown on the notice if you believe you do not owe the debt or you are
disputing the amount taken from your refund.
4.
If you filed a joint return
and you're not responsible for the debt, but you are entitled to a portion of
the refund, you may request your portion of the refund by filing IRS Form 8379,
Injured Spouse Allocation. Attach Form 8379 to your original Form 1040, Form
1040A, or Form 1040EZ or file it by itself after you are notified of an offset.
5.
If you file a Form 8379
with your return, write "INJURED SPOUSE" at the top left corner of the Form
1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ. IRS will process your allocation request before an
offset occurs.
6.
If you are filing Form 8379
by itself, it must show both spouses' social security numbers in the same order
as they appeared on your income tax return. You, the "injured" spouse, must sign
the form. Do not attach the previously filed Form 1040 to the Form 8379. Send
Form 8379 to the Service Center where you filed your original return.
7.
The IRS will compute the
injured spouse's share of the joint return for you. Contact the IRS only if your
original refund amount shown on the FMS offset notice differs from the refund
amount shown on your tax return.
Follow the instructions on Form 8379 carefully and be sure to attach the
required forms to avoid delays. If a notice is not received contact the
Financial Management Service at 800–304–3107, Monday through Friday from 7:30AM
to 5 PM (Central Time).
For assistance with completing Form 8379, call the IRS toll-free number
800-829-1040.
Link:
Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation