no notice of interception of tax check

[jennifer]

i had no notice that i would not be getting my refund

[jennifer]

i think there should be some kind of warning

[Lynn in PA]

jennifer wrote:

i had no notice that i would not be getting my refund

I'm not sure why your refund was held - for what obligation, but did you know that the IRS has an offset hotline that can be called to see if there are any outstanding obligations against your refund before you file. My experience with Block is they call you and tell you there's an offset if you use one of the bank loan programs and you either wait longer for the difference or have to pay off the bank some other way. If you don't use a bank loan, I don't know how else to find out there's no refund coming from the IRS, except to call them.

[kris]

Hi, I know from first hand experience, that as a tax preparer we have no way of knowing if a refund is kept by the government. We dont receive anything after we file the return unless it is rejected by the government. You can log onto the site irs.gov and click on wheres my refund and that might help. good luck

[Laura]

IRS will send a letter to the taxpayer. Tax preparers do NOT get the information, unless it is rejected by a bank product (such as a loan).

IRS used to have the debt offset list, but they (congress) decided to have that done now "out of house" so I believe you get a phone number to call to find out who got it.
IRS can only tell you that there IS an offset, not WHO.

Generally it's student loan or child support. Sometimes state debts and hospitals (if it's a BIG hospital). BUT you will get a notice in the mail, and the debt offset will be there until it's paid in full.

Remember if you are Married Filing Joint and your spouse don't owe the debt (or you) then you can file an Injured Spouse and get parital refund. It takes time....IRS puts these on the back burner, but it's an option.

[RED OHIO]

I AM ALSO A TAX PREPARER W/HR BLOCK AND HAVE BEEN FOR SOME YEARS. WE REALLY DO NOT GET NOTICE IF YOUR REFUND IS WITHELD BY THE IRS. WE ONLY GET NOTICES OF BANK REJECTIONS W/CODES. ALSO ADDRESSING THE RAL LAWSUITS, WHEN A CLIENT CHOOSES HOW THEY WANT TO FILE, THE INTEREST PERCENTAGE IS RIGHT ON THE SCREEN. THEY CHOOSE TO GET THEIR MONEY FAST AS POSSIBLE AND DON'T MIND PAYING THE EXTRA UNTIL THE HAVE ALREADY SPENT THE REFUND. OUR OFFICE FULLY EXPLAINS THE RACS AND RALS TO EACH CLIENT AND THEY STLL CHOOSE TO GO THAT WAY 99% OF THE TIME

[Lynn Preston]

Who can you call to find out if; I entitled to some money from the suit I mailed my papers in last year.

[henry b]

people wanna blame h and r block for so many things,but no one talks about the good things.the people at block dont know why your refund was offset because of the privacy act.when your return is transmitted to the irs,the only thing block sees is whats called debt indicator report.this report is very vague,if your name is on it,then your loan will be turned down because there probably is an offset.the 4 codes are,I(means you still owe the irs back taxes from prior years),F(means you owe some government agency besides the irs,this list is growing each year as the government agencys becomes more computer integrated.the most common is back state taxes,unemployment,student loans,child support,but theres lots of others also.),B(I and F combined),and finnally N(this means theres probably not an offset but you had an offset the previous year and the bank wants to see if you are all paid up).block cant find out for you all they can do is give you phone numbers to help you find out.the best thing to do is call the irs,this takes time so make sure you have a while,but they will tell you why theres an offset.

[Rebecca]

Henry b. is correct. The computer gives one of the four codes that he mentions. All the tax office can do at that point is give you the correct phone number to call about your debt. Information about a debt will only be provided to the person that is responsible for the debt. A tax office has no control over IRS witholding part or all of a refund for a past debt.

[Sharon b]

i know all to weel that the goverment doesn't give you any notice be taking your tax refund trying to raise a child they took my because my then ex husband never removed my name from a hud loan nice of the goverment to be so greedy to a single parent

[tyb]

Is this offset line accurate? Everytime i call this number it tells me their is no offset against my refund but when i filed my taxes last year jointly their was an offset and some of my money was taken.I filed for my taxes and i was denied. Could this be from last year refund?

[preparer]

tyb wrote:

Is this offset line accurate? Everytime i call this number it tells me their is no offset against my refund but when i filed my taxes last year jointly their was an offset and some of my money was taken.I filed for my taxes and i was denied. Could this be from last year refund?

The only person who can obtain this information is you sweety. You will need to call the IRS to get that information. 1-800-829-1040. The offset line is usually accurate. But, sometimes it will not list amounts owed to another taxing authority. When in doubt call the IRS and make them explain their actions!!

[preparer]

jennifer wrote:

i had no notice that i would not be getting my refund

Your notice was not paying your bills. If you owe Federal student loans, money to a taxing authority or child support. DUH!!! They are gonna take their payment anyway they can.

[shell]

my experience with this offset is more local. i was hit up last year married little over year said husband owed a bill, don't know what for. say what you want i filed court admin tried to take mine, they didn't but tried again this year. i received the first lettewr but thats all. when my husband appealed it last year(also trying to find out what it was about)we received a letter within the week declining his appeal, yea right if the state would work that fast at processing our judicial system we wouldn't be so deep in debt!!

[shell]

my experience with this offset is more local. i was hit up last year married little over year said husband owed a bill, don't know what for. say what you want i filed court admin tried to take mine, they didn't but tried again this year. i received the first letter but that's all. I still am waiting to find out. when my husband appealed it last year(also trying to find out what it was about)we received a letter within the week declining his appeal, yea right if the state would work that fast at processing our judicial system we wouldn't be so deep in debt!!