Q: Is it legal to be offset by the government with no notice?
We finally received our refund (after waiting since April) and it was significantly lower than we expected. When I called the Treasury to find out why, I was told we were offset. After playing tag with BFS and the Treasury, I was told that notices were sent out months ago but I never received anything. I was also told they would send out additional letters for each offset as of today (7/31/2019). I verified the address on file and it's correct meaning I should have received something. I've received letters from the IRS and from the state with no issue in the last year. Is this legal for them to offset even though I never received anything to notify me of their intent?
A:
Yes.
You can try to challenge it but odds are exceedingly low you'll see that money. Once they put the letter in the mail to the last known address they've fulfilled their obligation.
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