EDD took more money than my overpayment amount - will I get the $268 refunded?
Hey everyone, I'm in a weird situation with EDD. They hit me with an overpayment notice for approximately $1,200 a few months ago (something about unreported income from a side gig I did). Instead of setting up a payment plan, they intercepted both my state tax refund AND my federal tax refund. The problem is, they took MORE than what I owed! When I logged into my EDD account yesterday, it shows a credit balance of $268 in my favor. Has anyone experienced this before? Will they automatically send me the $268 they owe me back as a check? Or will it be applied to my EDD card? There's no info about refunds on their website that I can find, and calling is... well, you know how that goes. Any advice appreciated!
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Aisha Hussain
lol good luck gettin money BACK from edd 😂 took em 8 months to pay me benefits i was owed
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Mateo Rodriguez
•Oh great, that's what I was afraid of. 8 months?! I was hoping there'd be some automated process for refunds.
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GalacticGladiator
I went through this exact situation in May. When EDD takes more than the overpayment amount through tax intercepts, they're required to refund the excess. In my experience, you should receive a paper check to your mailing address on file within about 4-6 weeks. The system doesn't immediately process refunds - it has to go through their accounting department's reconciliation cycle, which typically happens monthly. Make sure your address is current in your UI Online account. If you don't receive anything after 6 weeks, you'll need to contact them specifically about the overpayment refund. Ask for the "Collections Division" when you call as they handle overpayment reconciliations.
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Ethan Brown
•This is 100% correct. I went through the same thing and got my refund check after 5 weeks. Make sure you keep checking your UI Online account too because sometimes they'll post a message there before sending the check.
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Yuki Yamamoto
they took my refunds too for overpayment but i never got any extra back...maybe they calculated interest?? did your original notice say anything about interest or penalties?
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GalacticGladiator
•Interest doesn't automatically apply to all overpayments - only those classified as fraudulent typically accrue interest and penalties. If your overpayment was deemed non-fraudulent (simple mistake), they shouldn't be adding interest. If they did take more than you owed without explanation, you should definitely call and ask for an accounting of what was taken.
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Carmen Ruiz
The credit balance on your account is definitely owed back to you. EDD should issue a refund automatically, but their systems don't always process these quickly. If you want to speed things up, you'll need to contact EDD directly. I recommend using Claimyr to get through to an EDD representative without the endless redial nightmare. I was in a similar situation last year and wasted days trying to reach someone. A friend told me about Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. There's a video demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km When you get through, specifically ask to speak with someone who can help with "tax intercept refunds" - regular UI representatives often don't have access to this system.
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Mateo Rodriguez
•Thanks for the tip! I've been dreading the call-hang up-redial cycle. I'll check out that service if I don't see anything in the next few weeks.
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Andre Lefebvre
Wait—they can take BOTH your federal AND state returns for an EDD overpayment??? I thought they could only intercept your state refund? I'm dealing with a $3000 overpayment right now and this has me PANICKING
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Zoe Dimitriou
•Yes, unfortunately both federal and state refunds can be intercepted for EDD overpayments. This happens through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) at the federal level and the state's own offset program. They typically start with your state refund first, and if that doesn't cover the full amount, they'll intercept your federal refund as well. If you're concerned about this, you have options. You can set up a repayment plan with EDD before tax season, which might prevent the intercepts if you maintain the payments. Another option is to request a waiver if the overpayment wasn't your fault. Call EDD and ask about your specific options based on your case.
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Ethan Brown
Just to add one more detail to this thread - when I received my refund check from EDD after overpayment, the check came from the State Controller's Office, not directly from EDD. So don't throw away any official-looking mail from the state in the coming weeks. Also, the check didn't come with any explanation letter, just the check itself with a very basic stub.
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Mateo Rodriguez
•That's really helpful to know! I'll keep an eye out for mail from the State Controller's Office. Would hate to accidentally toss it thinking it was junk mail.
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QuantumQuest
i had a similar thing happen but with SDI not unemployment, they took too much money and I had to wait like 3 months for them to figure it out. the system is so broken!!!!!
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GalacticGladiator
•While both are administered by EDD, SDI and UI have completely different systems and departments handling them. The refund process for UI overpayments typically works more quickly than SDI issues, so OP's timeline should be shorter than 3 months.
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GalacticGladiator
One more thing to add - if 8 weeks pass and you still haven't received your refund, you can also try contacting your state assembly member's office. They have liaisons who work directly with EDD and can often get answers when regular channels fail. Just Google "[your city] state assembly member" to find your representative.
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Mateo Rodriguez
•That's a great idea! I'll definitely do that if things drag on. Really appreciate all the helpful advice everyone!
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