Washington ESD overpayment - if i owe unemployment will i get a refund from taxes?

Yes, Washington ESD can intercept your state tax refund if you have an outstanding overpayment. They participate in the Treasury Offset Program, so they can also take your federal refund. You should definitely appeal this if you think it's wrong - you have 30 days from the notice date.

this happened to my brother last year, they took his entire $1,400 refund without warning. The overpayment was from 2022 and he had no idea it was coming

I had a similar issue and used Claimyr to actually get through to Washington ESD about my overpayment. They have this service at claimyr.com that helps you reach an agent - there's even a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. I was able to get my case reviewed and the overpayment was reduced by half because of an error in their calculation.

THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED! They make it impossible to reach anyone to dispute these bogus overpayments then steal your tax refunds. I've been dealing with Washington ESD for 8 months on a $4,200 overpayment that makes NO SENSE.

For anyone dealing with overpayments, make sure you understand the difference between fraud and non-fraud overpayments. Non-fraud overpayments (like reporting errors or Washington ESD mistakes) don't have the same penalties as fraud overpayments. The treasury offset applies to both types though.

ugh this is my worst nightmare. I'm currently on unemployment and terrified I'm going to get one of these notices

Just want to update - I mentioned Claimyr earlier and wanted to add that I was able to get through to Washington ESD within a few days using their service. The agent explained exactly how my overpayment was calculated and we found the error. Definitely saved me from losing my tax refunds for the next few years.

They took my husband's entire $2,100 refund last year without any notice. We didn't even know he had an overpayment until the refund never came. Turns out it was from way back in 2021 and we never got the original notice because we moved.

Important tip: even if you owe an overpayment, you can sometimes negotiate a payment plan with Washington ESD instead of having your refunds taken. But you have to contact them BEFORE they start the offset process. Once it's in the system, it's much harder to stop.

been there done that, they'll take every refund until it's paid off. took them 3 years to get all my money back. wasn't worth fighting it

One more thing - if you're currently receiving unemployment benefits and you get an overpayment notice, Washington ESD can also reduce your current weekly benefit amount to recover the overpayment. They usually take about 25% of your weekly benefit until it's paid off.

I successfully appealed my overpayment last year after getting help reaching the right people at Washington ESD. The key was having all my documentation organized - pay stubs, work logs, and screenshots of what I reported on my weekly claims. Without being able to speak to someone who understood the system, I never would have known what evidence I needed.

just to add my 2 cents - even if you owe the money legitimately, you should still try to work with them instead of just letting them take your refunds. I was able to get on a payment plan and it was way better for my budget than losing my whole tax refund at once

This whole thread is making me paranoid about my unemployment claim. I've been super careful but now I'm worried I made some mistake that's going to come back and bite me

For what it's worth, I got an overpayment notice that was completely wrong - they said I didn't report working when I had all the documentation showing I did report it correctly. After fighting it for 6 months I finally got it dismissed. Don't just assume they're right!

Final update from me - just wanted to confirm that my overpayment was officially reduced from $3,400 to $1,200 after I was able to speak with someone at Washington ESD through Claimyr. They found calculation errors in their system. Definitely worth exploring that option if you're stuck in phone limbo like I was.

Bottom line - yes they will take your tax refund and there's not much you can do to stop it once the process starts. But if you think the overpayment is wrong, you absolutely should appeal it. Even if it takes months, it's better than paying money you don't actually owe