An official website of the United States Government (NON-Prod - Development Environment)Your tax return may show you’re due a refund from the IRS. However, if you owe a federal tax debt from a prior tax year, or a debt to another federal agency, or certain debts under state law, the IRS may keep (offset) some or all your tax refund to pay your debt.
What kinds of debts might be offset?
The IRS makes offsets for past due federal taxes. All other offsets are handled by the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS), previously known as the Financial Management Service (FMS). For federal tax offsets, you’ll get an IRS notice. For all other offsets, the notice will come from BFS.
If the offset paid a federal tax debt
If the offset paid a non-federal debt
If you didn’t get an offset notice
If you filed a joint tax return, you may be entitled to part or all the refund offset if your spouse is solely responsible for the debt. To request your part of the tax refund, file Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation.
If your tax refund was offset to pay a joint federal tax debt and you believe only your spouse or former spouse should be held responsible for all or part of the balance due, you should request relief from the liability.
If your IRS problem is causing you financial hardship, you’ve tried repeatedly and aren’t receiving a response from the IRS, or you feel your taxpayer rights aren’t being respected, consider contacting the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS).
Browse common tax issues and situations at Get Help.
You may be eligible for representation from an attorney, Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or Enrolled Agent (EA) associated with a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) for little or no cost. Low Income Taxpayer Clinics also provide information about taxpayer rights and responsibilities in different languages for individuals who speak English as a second language.
Where’s my Refund? (IRS.gov)
Bureau of Fiscal Service (BFS)
