EDD taking tax refunds for overpayment - who actually got their refund?

they took my entire refund last year. didnt matter that i was on payment plan. the moment u owe EDD money they can grab ur refunds sorry

The situation depends on your specific overpayment classification. If EDD determined your overpayment was due to fraud, they will definitely intercept your tax refund through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) regardless of your payment plan status. However, if your overpayment was classified as non-fraud, AND you've been maintaining your payment plan consistently for at least 6 months, there's a possibility they won't intercept. Best course of action is to contact EDD directly to verify your status. You should also check if you received a "Notice of Intent to Offset" letter, which they're required to send before taking your refund.

THEY TOOK MY ENTIRE REFUND LAST YEAR!!! It was almost $3,000 and I was counting on it for my daughter's braces. The worst part? I was on a payment plan too and never missed a payment! The EDD system is BROKEN and they don't care about people actually trying to make good on their debts. They just take whatever they can get their hands on. I filed my taxes early last year and waited and waited for my refund... finally had to call the FTB and they told me it was intercepted. NO WARNING, NO NOTICE, NOTHING!!!

I actually got my federal refund last year despite owing EDD about $3,200. However, they did take my state refund. From what I understand, your federal refund might be safe if your debt is only with the state of California, but the state will definitely take their portion. This year though, I received a letter specifically warning me that my federal refund would also be subject to offset. If you need to reach EDD to discuss your options, you might want to try Claimyr (claimyr.com). They helped me get through to an actual human at EDD when I kept hitting dead ends trying to call myself. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km. Once I got through, I was able to negotiate a temporary hold on collections while I sorted out my finances.

Have you checked your account on the FTB website? You can sometimes see if there's a hold or offset on your refund before it processes. Also, if you filed jointly with a spouse, you might be able to file an "Injured Spouse Allocation" form to protect their portion of the refund. My husband and I did this last year when they tried to take our joint refund for my EDD overpayment. We got about 60% of our refund that way.

my cousin had same problem last year and he just did his taxes different so he wouldnt get a refund. he adjusted his withholdings so he broke even instead. that way EDD couldnt take anything cuz there was nothing to take lol

I know this isn't exactly what you asked, but have you considered requesting a waiver for your overpayment? If it wasn't your fault (like if EDD made the mistake or if paying it back would cause significant financial hardship), you can file for an overpayment waiver. I did this last year and got about half of my $6200 overpayment waived. It took about 3 months to process but was worth it. You can find the DE 1446W form on the EDD website.

Just to clarify some misinformation I'm seeing in this thread: The Treasury Offset Program (TOP) works independently from your payment plan with EDD. Even if you're making regular payments, your tax refund can still be intercepted if your debt has been certified for offset. The good news is that any amount intercepted will reduce your overall debt balance. If your refund is intercepted, you should receive a notice from the Department of Treasury explaining the offset and providing contact information. Any disputes about the offset need to be directed to EDD, not the IRS or FTB. Also worth noting that federal refunds may be applied to state debts under certain circumstances through reciprocal agreements between California and the federal government.