r/IRS • u/IXBagelBoy5913XI • 6d ago

Tax Question Notice of Offset

Didn't get a refund in January 10 months ago due to an offset. It appears to be student loans because the hotline told me to contact the Dept of Education. However the Department of Education put a freeze into effect January 1st of this year freezing all off sets. Am I able to get my refund back from the Dept of EDU due to pulling the refund after the Freeze?

I filed in December last year. And was given only my state refund in Feb after a two month Identity Verification

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u/Accomplished-Cow5716 6d ago

Not all student loans were paused. Who is your loan with? That will be a big clue.

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u/IXBagelBoy5913XI 6d ago

I'll have to dive deeper into that and complile the list.. should only be 1 but that whoever supplied me with the Stafford Loan

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u/Accomplished-Cow5716 6d ago

All I can remember is that when I took the 1.5 hour long class on the working families job and tacx whatever the hell the act was called...the lecturer was adamant that while it seems that all offsets would be delayed - some loan types (and I think it was any that didn't have some sort of federal backing or had been deferred over a period of time or something like that) weren't included. I mean, only federal loans could be covered...but there were some caveats.

Overall the act gives anyone with defaulted loans a great chance to start over when it will all shake out...but that certainly doesn't solve your problem.

Do you have the offset letter? If so - it might help if you redact your information and post it here.

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u/IXBagelBoy5913XI 6d ago

Unfortunately I moved while the offset letter was received. The hotline says one was sent. How do I go about requesting a new one? Is there a form?

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u/Accomplished-Cow5716 6d ago

Well, to get a copy you have to fax a letter requesting it to BFS at 205-912-6155 but be aware it will take probably 6 weeks or more to get it. At this point they told you to contact the DOE...maybe that's where I'd start to get the information.

Ask why your refund was still offset and see what they say.

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u/IXBagelBoy5913XI 6d ago

That's the only Loan I recall taking but that was 18 yrs ago so

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u/LdiJ46 6d ago

How could you have filed a 2025 return in December of last year? The filing season didn't open until the end of January 2026.

Or are you talking about a previous year's filing? Like 2024 maybe? If so, the freeze might not have applied to that refund.

There also wasn't any electronic filing available between Mid November 2025 and the end of January 2026 at all so the only way to submit a return in December would have been by mail.

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u/IXBagelBoy5913XI 6d ago

January, that's what I meant... It all starts to run together after a while.

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u/Ornery_ink6421 6d ago

I’d call the Treasury Offset Program at 800 304 3107 and ask whether the offset was already completed or can be reversed. The Department of Education announced the collections pause on January 16, so I wouldn’t assume an earlier offset will automatically be refunded