Tax Refund Withholdings and Offsets
The Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Treasury’s Financial Management Services (FMS) can offset or reduce federal tax refunds or withhold the amount to satisfy any money you may owe due to delinquent debts. The IRS would like you to know some information about tax refund offsets. Your tax refund will be used to offset any federal or state income taxes that you may owe. If an offset occurs, you will receive notice reflecting the original refund amount, offset amount, the agency receiving payment and the contact information of the agency. If you would like to dispute the amount, contact the agency using the information provided. If you are not responsible for the debt, you filed a joint return, and are entitled to a portion of the refund, you may request your portion of the refund by filing Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation. After being notified of the offset, attach Form 8379 to your original Form 1040, Form 1040A, or Form 1040EZ. When filing a Form 8379 with your tax return, write “INJURED SPOUSE” at the top left corner of your Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ. If filing Form 8379 by itself, it must include both spouses’ social security numbers in the same order as they were listed on your income tax return. The injured party must sign the form and send it to the Service Center where you filed your original tax return. The IRS will then compute the injured spouse’s portion of the joint return.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A., in Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
