united-states tax-law due-process
Tax refund offset due process
<p>What due process is there in federal refund offset? For instance, if a state contacts the IRS claiming that someone owes them a debt, will the IRS just take their word for it and deduct the amount from the alleged debtor's federal refund, or does the state have to file for a hearing in federal court?</p>

<p>This authority derives from <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6402" rel="nofollow noreferrer">26 USC 6402</a>, where Congress authorized the Treasury Department to reduce an internal revenue tax &quot;overpayment&quot; credit for certain purposes. Different paragraphs identify specific purposes: past-due support is in para (c). &quot;Past-due support&quot; is defined, for this purpose, in <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/664" rel="nofollow noreferrer">42 USC 664</a>. Para (c) they says that the Sec'y will reduce the refund and notify the taxpayer. The requirement there is simply that the State certify that this is &quot;past-due support&quot;, and there is no required hearing.</p>
<p>42 USC 664, where the term is defined, says a little bit more, since the trigger is</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Upon receiving notice from a State agency administering a plan
approved under this part that a named individual owes past-due support
which has been assigned to such State pursuant to section <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/608#a_3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">608(a)(3)</a> or
<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/671#a_17" rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 671(a)(17)</a> of this title</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and then the Sec'y must determine if the taxpayer is entitled to a refund – if so, the refund will be reduced.</p>
<p>The &quot;process&quot; thus relies on the &quot;plans&quot; so established. The key is that the Sec'y must approve said plan, following <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/654" rel="nofollow noreferrer">42 USC 654</a> (which is very long and comprehensive). One of the requirements of an approvable plan is that the agency
&quot;shall require the individual to supply additional necessary information and appear at interviews, hearings, and legal proceedings&quot;.</p>
