Tax Refund Offset for Social Security Overpayment - Fighting Back?

Yes, this is unfortunately common. Social Security Administration (SSA) can and will intercept tax refunds for overpayments through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). I've seen this happen a lot since January 2024 when they ramped up collection efforts. You should have received a Notice of Intent to Offset at least 60 days before the offset occurred - it would have been sent around December 2023 or January 2024. If you didn't receive this notice, that's your first point to challenge. You have the right to request a review of the alleged debt, and in some cases, you can request a waiver if repayment would cause financial hardship. The process is frustrating as hell because SSA and Treasury don't communicate well with each other.

When I had my refund offset for SSA overpayment last year, I spent 4 days trying to reach someone at SSA. According to ssa.gov/manage-benefits/contact-us, their average wait time is 35 minutes, but I was on hold for 2+ hours each time before getting disconnected. I finally used Claimyr (https://www.claimyr.com) to get through to an agent in about 15 minutes. They can't fix the issue immediately, but they'll tell you exactly what documentation you need and where to send it. The agent I spoke with even gave me her direct extension for follow-up. Worth the fee to avoid days of frustration and hold music.

I'm so sorry you're going through this situation again. It might be helpful, if you don't mind sharing, to know what kind of Social Security benefit was involved? Was it perhaps SSI or SSDI or regular retirement benefits? The reason I ask is because each type of benefit might have slightly different appeal processes, though they're all generally handled through the same offices. Also, did you perhaps receive a Notice of Overpayment before the offset notification? Sometimes these notices get lost in the mail or might have been sent to an old address.

I'm in a similar situation... not sure if my refund will be taken yet. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my tax transcript and it showed a pending offset code. The site explained exactly what the code meant and that I probably wouldn't see my refund. It also showed me which specific form to file to dispute the offset. Might be worth checking your transcript if you haven't already. I'm preparing my dispute paperwork now based on what I learned.

I have some questions about your situation that might help us give better advice: • Did you receive a Notice of Intent to Offset letter before this happened? • Have you contacted the SSA yet about this specific offset? • Do you know if this is related to the same overpayment issue from 2021 or a new one? • Did you file for a waiver of overpayment recovery (Form SSA-632)? The approach might be different depending on these factors.

According to the Social Security Administration's Program Operations Manual System (POMS) section SI 02220.012, you have the right to request a waiver of the overpayment. In my case, I received a similar offset in 2023 and submitted Form SSA-632 "Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery." This form allows you to demonstrate that 1) the overpayment wasn't your fault and 2) repayment would cause financial hardship. Per 20 CFR § 404.506, if you request a waiver, collection efforts should pause while your request is being evaluated. I had to explicitly cite this regulation when I called because the first representative wasn't aware of this requirement.

This happened to me. February 2023. Full refund taken. $4,782. No warning. Called SSA. Waited 3 hours. They said I was overpaid in 2020. Disputed it. Filed Form SSA-561. Provided bank statements. Took 5 months. Got money back in August. Keep all documents. Be persistent. Call weekly. Ask for supervisors. Document every call.

I successfully fought an SSA offset last year! The key was requesting an in-person appointment at my local SSA office instead of trying to handle it by phone. Doesn't everyone say the phone system is impossible? I brought all my documentation showing their calculation error, and the local officer was actually helpful. She identified that they had counted the same income twice in their system. Had my refund back in about 6 weeks after the meeting. Could you try getting an in-person appointment?