How Long After MA Tax Refund Shows "Reduced" Status (Jan 2025) Until Receiving Remaining Amount?

My MA state refund status just changed from processing to 'Refund Reduced' because of outstanding liabilities with Unemployment. I'm looking at MassTaxConnect right now and it specifically says "Refund Status: Refund Reduced" at the top of the page. According to what I'm seeing on the MassTaxConnect screen, "Your return was received on 23-Jan-2025 and has been processed. A portion of your refund was applied to outstanding liabilities resulting in a new refund amount." Unfortunately, there's no specific dollar amount shown for what my new refund will be. The system explains that "You had outstanding liabilities with Unemployment. A letter has been issued with additional information." They're telling me I need to either log into MassTaxConnect, sign up for an account, or wait 10-14 business days to receive the letter by mail in order to see the details of what was deducted from my refund. I don't currently have a MassTaxConnect account and don't really want to wait almost two weeks for a letter if I don't have to. Has anyone gone through this before? How long after seeing this "Refund Reduced" status should I expect to actually receive the remaining refund amount? Also, for anyone else checking refund status for amended returns, disputes, or original returns filed before 12/1/2021, the system says you need to "log in to your MassTaxConnect account and message the Contact Center" directly. This information appears under the "Additional information" section at the bottom of the refund status page. The whole thing is frustrating because I can see they sent a letter with the details, but I have to either create an account or wait for snail mail to find out exactly how much of my refund I'm actually getting. Has anyone else dealt with this situation with MA state tax refunds?

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Connor Murphy

The MassTaxConnect system shows your tax return was processed on January 23rd, 2025, and indicates a partial reduction of your refund due to outstanding unemployment liabilities. The system has already initiated the offset process, which means a portion of your refund was automatically applied to your unemployment debt. The notice doesn't display the specific reduced refund amount, but this information is available in two ways: 1. Creating a MassTaxConnect account for immediate access 2. Waiting 10-14 business days for a mailed letter Based on typical Massachusetts DOR processing times, you should expect to receive the remaining portion of your refund via direct deposit or check within 5-7 business days after this status change. The unemployment offset won't further delay your remaining refund. For fastest access to the breakdown of deductions and the new refund amount, creating a MassTaxConnect account would be your best option rather than waiting for postal mail. This will also give you access to the detailed letter explaining the specific amounts applied to your unemployment debt.

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