When an individual owes certain government debt, including tax debts, child support, or student loan debt, all or part of the expected refund can be offset to pay toward the government debt. If the individual that owes a debt files a joint tax return, either federal or state, the joint filer’s portion of the refund will also be offset for the debtor’s obligation.
The joint filer, who is not obligated to pay the government debt is referred to as an “injured spouse”. The term innocent spouse is also used.
Since the injured spouse is not obligated to pay the debt, their portion of the tax refund can be calculated and refunded to them.
Below is information regarding the injured spouse procedure for both the state tax and the federal administrative offsets.
| State Tax Offset | Federal Administrative Offset | |
|---|---|---|
| CSS Contact | State Tax Offset Coordinator | Federal Administrative Offset Coordinator |
| Documentation |
|
IRS Form 8379 (To understand the 8379 form and the process better IRS Form 8379 Instructions ) |
| Filed with | CSS Case worker who then forwards documents to the State Tax Offset Administrator | The IRS |
| Filing Timeframe | 30 days | no deadline |
| Funds auto-issue | 45 days | 30 & 180 days |
| Forum | *OCSS.FORUM.TaxOffset | |
You may want to review the articles State Tax Offset and Federal Offset for additional information as well as the Legal Authorities.