TWC Covid overpayments - can they garnish wages or just take my tax refund?

Unfortunately, TWC has several ways to collect overpayments. They can and will: 1. Intercept your state and federal tax refunds 2. Prevent you from collecting future unemployment benefits until the debt is paid 3. Yes, they can garnish your wages, but they need to go through a legal process first 4. They can even put liens on your property in extreme cases Your best option is to contact them and set up a payment plan. They're usually willing to accept monthly payments as low as $25-30 if that's all you can afford. Don't ignore it because interest will continue to accumulate.

same thing hapened to me!! they said I owed $3200 and I just ignored it for like 8 months. BIG MISTAKE. they started taking 25% of my paychecks suddenly with no warning. my boss had to tell me why my check was short. super awkward convo

There's an important distinction here - was your overpayment classified as fraud or non-fraud? Look at your determination letter. If it says non-fraud overpayment (which sounds likely since you mentioned accidental reporting errors), you have more options. For non-fraud overpayments, you can: 1. Request a waiver if repayment would cause significant hardship 2. Appeal the overpayment determination if you think it's incorrect 3. Set up a payment plan For fraud-classified overpayments, unfortunately options are more limited. The 25% wage garnishment that someone mentioned can happen, but typically they send multiple notices before beginning that process. Don't ignore this - TWC is very persistent with collections. Start by calling them to understand your specific situation better.

THEY ARE RUTHLESS!!!! I had covid overpayment of $7200 and tried to ignore it. BIG mistake. They took EVERY tax refund for 2 years, then started garnishment procedures. Got legal papers at my JOB (humiliating) and now they take 15% of EVERY paycheck. Been going on for 6 months already. DON'T IGNORE IT LIKE I DID!!! Their "payment plans" are a joke too - they wanted $150/month minimum from me which I couldn't afford. The whole system is designed to PUNISH people who were just trying to survive during a GLOBAL PANDEMIC!!! Makes me FURIOUS!!

I've been calling TWC for weeks about a similar issue and kept getting busy signals and disconnections. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to a TWC rep in about 20 minutes. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh The agent I spoke with explained I could request a payment plan or hardship waiver. For non-fraud overpayments during Covid, they said they're being more flexible with payment plans. I'm now paying just $40/month which is manageable. Worth talking to them directly rather than waiting for them to take collection action.

my cousin had this happen and they took his tax refunds for like 3 years but never garnished his wages. maybe it depends how much u owe?

The determination letter should have information about how to appeal or request a waiver. Look for sections about "right to appeal" or "hardship waiver" in the paperwork. You typically have 14 calendar days from the date on the determination letter to file an appeal. If you're experiencing financial hardship, definitely request a waiver form. You'll need to provide documentation of your expenses and income to prove hardship, but I've seen many Covid-era overpayments waived, especially for smaller amounts or clear misunderstandings. Whatever you do, don't just ignore the notices. That's when they escalate to more aggressive collection methods.

One more thing - if your overpayment was from the federal pandemic programs (PEUC, PUA, FPUC), there might be additional options. Texas has been handling those differently than regular UI overpayments in some cases. But regardless of the program type, contact TWC immediately. The longer you wait, the fewer options you'll have. Their collections process typically follows this timeline: 1. Initial overpayment notice 2. Reminder notices (30-60 days) 3. Collection warning notices (60-90 days) 4. Tax refund intercept (can happen anytime after determination) 5. Legal proceedings for wage garnishment (typically 120+ days) So you're still at the beginning of this process and have time to work out a solution.

After reviewing your situation more, definitely pursue that hardship waiver ASAP. With the Covid-era overpayments, I've seen TWC be more lenient than with regular overpayments, especially if there was genuine confusion rather than intentional misreporting. Document everything that shows your financial hardship - rent increases, utility bills, necessary expenses, etc. The more documentation you provide with your waiver request, the better your chances. If the waiver is denied, then fall back to requesting the lowest possible payment plan. Sometimes they'll accept as little as $25/month if that's truly all you can afford.

I went through something similar last year with a $4,300 overpayment. Here's what I learned from the experience: First, check if your overpayment notice mentions anything about "good cause" or if it's clearly marked as non-fraud. Since you mentioned it was accidental reporting errors, this sounds like a non-fraud overpayment which gives you more options. I was able to get mine reduced by about 40% through the appeal process. Even though I did make reporting mistakes, I was able to show that some of the overpayment calculation was incorrect on their end too. The appeal hearing was done over the phone and wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. If the appeal doesn't work out, definitely go for the hardship waiver. I didn't qualify for a full waiver but got approved for a partial one that knocked off about $1,200. Most importantly - document EVERYTHING. Keep copies of all correspondence, take notes when you call (date, time, who you spoke with), and save all your financial records. The whole process took about 6 months but I ended up paying way less than the original amount. Don't panic, but definitely don't ignore it. You have options, especially if this was genuinely an accident during the chaos of Covid.

I'm in a similar boat with a Covid overpayment notice, though mine is smaller at around $2,800. Reading through all these responses has been both terrifying and helpful at the same time! @NeonNomad - definitely don't ignore this. I made the mistake of putting off dealing with mine for a couple months and the stress just kept building. Finally called TWC last week using that Claimyr service someone mentioned and got through pretty quickly. The rep I spoke with was actually more understanding than I expected. She explained that they're seeing tons of these Covid-era overpayment cases and many are getting resolved through payment plans or waivers. She said the key is to be proactive and contact them before they escalate to collections. For what it's worth, my overpayment was also classified as non-fraud (just reporting confusion during the transition back to work), and they offered me a $35/month payment plan on the spot. Still not ideal, but way better than a lump sum or wage garnishment. The hardship waiver route sounds promising too based on what others are saying. I'm going to try that next since my financial situation has actually gotten worse since Covid, not better. Hang in there - sounds like there are definitely options if you act quickly!

I'm dealing with the exact same situation right now - got hit with a $3,400 Covid overpayment notice from TWC about two weeks ago. Like you, it was from reporting confusion when I went back to part-time work in 2021. The whole system was such a mess back then and I genuinely thought I was reporting everything correctly. After reading through all these responses, I called TWC yesterday using that Claimyr service and actually got through to someone. The rep told me that since mine is classified as non-fraud overpayment, I have several options including appealing, requesting a hardship waiver, or setting up a payment plan. She also mentioned something important - if you can show that the overpayment was due to TWC's own unclear instructions or system issues during Covid (which honestly, their reporting system was confusing as hell), that can help with appeals or waiver requests. I'm planning to file for both an appeal and a hardship waiver just to cover all my bases. The worst they can say is no, right? But definitely don't wait - I was stressed about this for weeks before finally taking action, and I wish I had called sooner. You're not alone in this! Seems like thousands of people are dealing with these Covid overpayment notices. The system failed us during the pandemic and now we're all paying for it.