4030 Treasury Offset Program

Georgia State Seal

GEORGIA DIVISION OF FAMILY AND CHILDREN SERVICES
BENEFIT RECOVERY POLICY MANUAL

Chapter:

4030

Effective Date:

December 2019

Policy Title:

Treasury Offset Program

Reviewed or Updated in:

MT-11

Policy Number:

4030

Previous Update:

MT-10

Requirements

The Treasury Offset Program (TOP) is a process to collect Food Stamp over issuances by intercepting an individual’s federal benefits.

Basic Considerations

Claims are selected for TOP according to the following criteria:

  • Claim is Food Stamps

  • Claim status is active

  • Case status is not active

  • Claim balance is $25 or more

  • Claim status is delinquent

Georgia Gateway provides a file of social security numbers with claims meeting the criteria to the federal system. The file interfaces with recipients of certain federal benefits, with federal employees, federal retirees and individuals entitled to a federal payment. If a match is found between the social security number attached to a claim and the social security number of the federal benefit recipient, notification to proceed with the collection is sent to the state.

All adults in the assistance unit (AU) at the time of the claim period are considered liable debtors.

All active delinquent claims are referred to TOP.

A non-refundable fee is charged by TOP each time a debt is correctly selected for offset.

Collections through TOP are applied to claims automatically by Gateway.

Federal payments are offset at the time the return is processed. The entire amount of the refund, up to the balance of the claim, is offset.

Salaries of federal employees are offset each pay period by fifteen percent (15%). (A non-refundable fee is charged by TOP for each pay period offset.)

The TOP offset will continue until the employee/retiree makes and follows through with other arrangements or until the claim is paid in full.

Social Security benefit payments that exceed $750 per month will be offset by fifteen percent or by the amount that the benefit exceeds $750 whichever is less. Social Security recipients receive additional notice of the proposed offset. A non-refundable fee is charged by TOP for each pay period offset.

The Notice of Intent to Offset (Notice 1056) is mailed to the assistance unit when the debt is initially submitted to TOP. No further notice is required. The debt will remain in the TOP file until paid in full regardless of the current balance.

Notices mailed from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to the last known address in the TOP file, are considered received by the individual per federal policy. Notices mailed to the Georgia Gateway address and returned to the State are not considered received and those names must be removed from TOP due to lack of adequate notice.

Addresses received by the State from federal sources are federally validated but are confidential and cannot be used to update system files unless the customer or another source also provides the address.

The individual has 60 days from the date of the Notice 1056 to submit a written request for a review of the intent to offset. Requests must be submitted to OIG. During the 60-day period, the county may determine that the notification to offset is in error or the individual may elect to begin paying the claim or request a review.

Initial review requests must be submitted by the customer in writing, via the address provided to them in Notice 1056. These requests are handled by OIG staff. Written notification of the State’s decision to continue with the offset or delete the customer’s SSN from the TOP database is provided to the customer. If the decision to offset is upheld, the customer may request a federal review within 30 days of notification. Failure to act within this timeframe is considered a waiver of the opportunity to contest the offset. When a federal review is requested by the customer, the federal review officer will base any decision solely on the documentation and verification provided in the claim file and reports the decision to OIG staff.

The State submits files to TOP monthly, updating claim information and adding new claims that meet the selection criteria. A Notice 1056 is generated to the customer for each new claim added to the TOP file.

Funds collected by the U.S. Treasury are forwarded to the State. All financial transactions relating to TOP offsets are completed at the State level, including but not limited to any required refunds to the customer.

Changes in collection status or current balance made to the claim after an offset has occurred but prior to posting may affect the system’s ability to automatically post funds. OIG staff reviews a list of system identified refunds weekly to determine if the offset is totally or partially correct and if a refund to the customer is appropriate.

The Federal Treasury may reverse an offset and return funds to the customer after payment is posted. OIG is notified to remove the payment. Payments may be removed for the current tax year and/or prior years.

All reports and other documents containing customer information are confidential and must be kept in a secured location.

Procedures

The DFCS office:

  • Responds to inquiries from AU or from OIG.

  • Notifies OIG if the customer wishes to begin repayment or if the claim is not valid. OIG staff will delete a social security number from the final file submitted if notified before the deadline.

  • Provides adequate documentation for a decision to OIG staff, if the AU requests a review. This includes information about why and when the claim occurred, the date the AU was notified and the response, if any, to the notification.

  • Notifies OIG staff to delete the social security number from the current year’s offset if the investigation of the claims file finds inadequate or incomplete information. This information includes name, SSN and a reason for the deletion. The information must be provided within 60 days from the date of the AU notice.

  • Determines if claim material can be located or if a claim file needs to be reconstructed for future collection; and advises AU that the claim will be recertified in TOP. Once claim is certified and active in TOP; it remains there until paid in full, in an active bankruptcy or participating in a food stamp recoupment.

  • Corrects the claim in the system to prevent future offsets.

If the claim cannot be validated:

  • Terminate the claim if the information is totally and permanently unavailable.

  • Transfer the claim to a different case number if appropriate.

Injured Spouse

A spouse not in the AU at the time the debt was incurred is not responsible for payment. The filing of a joint tax return may result in an offset of the refund of the non-liable spouse. The non-liable spouse must notify the local IRS of the situation and request to file an “Injured Spouse Claim”. The IRS will return the refund if appropriate.