Child Support Offset Took More Than I Owe - How to Get the Excess Back?

Ya this happens sometimes - the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) can take from both fed and state refunds, but they don't always coordinate perfectly btwn the two. Since they took $603 more than u actually owed, you're def entitled to get that back. Gotta contact your state's child support enforcement agency ASAP tho, not the IRS. The IRS just follows the offset instructions they receive. Curious - did you get any notice before the offset happened?

I would recommend you contact both your state child support agency and the Treasury Offset Program immediately. This kind of situation where they take from both sources can sometimes result in overpayment, but you need to act quickly. There might be specific deadlines for requesting the excess amount back. Do you have documentation showing the exact amount you owed in child support before the offset?

I went through this nightmare last year. My state took $1,450 and federal took $2,200 when I only owed $2,800 total. Have you checked your child support transcript to confirm the exact balance? I was confused about what was happening until I uploaded my documents to https://taxr.ai which explained that my state's system hadn't reported the payment to the federal system in time. What happens if you don't get this resolved quickly? Does the extra payment just sit in your account as credit for future payments?

This is a clear case of a Treasury Offset Program (TOP) overpayment. The Bureau of Fiscal Service coordinates these offsets but doesn't actually manage the debts themselves. Your situation involves both an Intergovernmental Offset (your state refund) and a Federal Tax Refund Offset (your federal refund). Since the combined total exceeds your liability, you're entitled to a refund of the excess under 31 CFR § 285.3. Contact your State Disbursement Unit (SDU) with documentation of both offsets to initiate the refund process.

Here's what you need to do to get your money back: 1. Gather documentation showing your original child support debt amount 2. Collect proof of both the state and federal offsets 3. Contact your state's child support enforcement agency 4. Submit a formal request for refund of the overpayment 5. Follow up regularly until resolved I was in this exact situation last tax season and spent WEEKS trying to reach someone at the child support office. Finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person at the agency instead of waiting on hold forever. Got my overpayment back in about 4 weeks after speaking with someone directly.

Isn't it crazy how they can take your money instantly but it takes months to get back what they shouldn't have taken in the first place? Why can't they just have a system that communicates between state and federal so this doesn't happen? And why do we have to do all the work to fix THEIR mistake? I've seen this happen to several people this tax season already.

I tracked this exact situation for 37 clients last year. The average time to receive an overpayment refund was 42 days, with a range of 28 to 76 days. In 100% of cases, the refund had to come from the state child support agency, not the IRS. The excess amount of $603 should be refunded with no interest. For reference, the IRS took exactly $1,080 as instructed by the child support agency, and your state took $603 separately, creating the $603 overpayment.

This is a Treasury Offset Program (TOP) coordination issue between federal and state taxing authorities. Since your state's Department of Revenue (DOR) and the IRS don't have real-time data sharing for offset purposes, they both proceeded with their respective collection actions without knowledge of the other. The Deficit Reduction Act provisions that govern these intercepts require the creditor agency to refund any excess collection. I successfully navigated this last year by submitting Form XYZ-CS (varies by state) to my state's child support enforcement division with documentation of both offsets.

Unlike other tax situations where you'd work with the IRS, child support offsets require working with your state's child support agency. Compared to IRS issues, these are actually easier to resolve in my experience. Another approach: call your state's child support customer service line and ask for an "overpayment review." Some states have expedited processes for clear-cut cases like yours. In my state (Florida), they have a dedicated form for exactly this situation that speeds up the refund process to about 3 weeks instead of the usual 6-8 weeks.