PA UC took $5k from my tax refund for $2k overpayment - where's my $3k difference?

OMG this EXACT same thing happened to me!!!! They took $4,200 from my tax return for a $1,700 overpayment. I've been calling for THREE WEEKS and keep getting disconnected or put on eternal hold. This is ridiculous! Did the rep at least tell you who to contact about the difference? The PA UC system is a complete mess!!

This is actually fairly common with tax refund intercepts. When UC processes an overpayment that qualifies for tax refund intercept, they send the request to Treasury with the full overpayment amount plus penalties. However, if you've made payments or they took money from benefits already, there's often a timing issue where those aren't reflected properly. To get the difference back, you need to: 1) Request an official overpayment accounting statement from UC showing exactly what you owed including all fees/penalties 2) File a "Request for Refund of Excess Recoupment" form with PA Treasury (not UC) 3) Include your tax transcript and the UC accounting statement. It can take 8-12 weeks, but you should get the difference back. The key is proving exactly what you owed vs. what was taken.

had this happen in 2023. took 5 months to get my money back. u need to keep calling UC every week. the phone system is impossible tho. i finally got thru by using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they have a system that calls UC for you and connects when they get a human. costs money but worth it for me cause I needed my $$ back. they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 good luck dealing w/ this mess

I work in tax preparation and see this A LOT with PA UC overpayments. The previous poster is right that you need documentation, but let me clarify the process. You need to contact both agencies: 1. UC office: Request a "Statement of Overpayment Account" showing the exact amount owed including any penalties/interest and all payments applied 2. PA Treasury: Request a "Treasury Offset Verification" showing exactly what was intercepted from your refund With these two documents, you file a "Treasury Offset Refund Request" specifically for the difference. Common mistake: people only contact UC, but Treasury is actually holding your money! Also, track everything in writing - I've had clients wait up to 16 weeks for resolution.

yeah so they did this to my brother too last year except it was even worse they took 6k for a 1500 overpayment and he never got the difference back after waiting like 9 months. he kept calling and they kept saying it was "in process" until eventually they just stopped responding to him at all. the system is designed to screw regular people and they know nobody has the money to take them to court over it. good luck

I dealt with this in February. Here's what worked for me: 1. Call UC and ask specifically for a "Notice of Overpayment Settlement" document 2. Take that to your local state representative's office and ask for their help 3. They have special liaisons who can cut through the red tape I had my money back in 3 weeks after spinning my wheels for 2 months. The rep's office told me they see this problem constantly and have a direct process for handling it. Don't just keep calling the main UC number - it won't get you anywhere.

just wondering but did you get any kind of notice before they took your tax refund? i have an overpayment from 2023 and im worried theyll take my refund too. should i just assume theyre going to intercept my taxes?

Has anyone gotten ANYWHERE with this problem? I'm so frustrated I could scream. I've now called PA Treasury 4 times and they just transfer me around until someone hangs up on me. I filed a complaint with the PA attorney general last week. This is THEFT.

Quick update: I took everyone's advice and got somewhere! I requested the Statement of Overpayment from UC (took 3 calls to get it) and then contacted my state rep's office. They were SUPER helpful and said they see this issue all the time. They have me filling out a Treasury Offset Review form and said they'll expedite it through their channels. Will update again when I know more. Thanks everyone for the guidance - feeling much less panicked now!