Debt Management Services

Treasury Offset Program:
State Unemployment Insurance Compensation Debts

The Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS), is the government's central debt collection agency. FMS develops and maintains a centralized offset program, the Treasury Offset Program (TOP), by which payments are offset to collect delinquent debts owed to federal agencies and states. State Unemployment Insurance Compensation debts are now eligible for referral to TOP.

On September 30, 2008, the President signed the SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act Public Law (110-328), which amended 26 U.S.C. 6402 to authorize tax refund offset to collect an additional type of unemployment insurance compensation debts owed to the states that were incurred as a result of fraud, and that were not outstanding for more than ten years.

Additionally, after the President signed the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (PL 111-291) on December 8, 2010, the program was expanded to include all unemployment compensation debts incurred as a result of the debtor's failure to report earnings, whether or not the failure constituted fraud. The 2010 Act also eliminated the ten-year statute of limitations on collection, the requirement that the debtor reside in the state seeking to collect the debt, and the requirement to use certified mail with return receipt for pre-offset notices.

In TOP, FMS will compare tax refund payment records, as certified by IRS, with records of debts submitted to FMS by the states. A match will occur when the taxpayer identification number and the name on a payment certification record are the same as the taxpayer identification number and name (or derivative of the name) on a delinquent debt record. When a match occurs and all other requirements for tax refund offset have been met, FMS will reduce the amount of any tax refund payment payable to a debtor by the amount of any past-due, legally enforceable unemployment insurance compensation debt owed by the debtor. Any amounts not offset will be paid to the payee(s) listed in the payment certification record.

The UIC Debt Program was implemented in TOP on February 14, 2011.

If you have questions regarding the offset of your federal tax refund or offset of another U.S. government-issued payment. You can call our Treasury Offset Program (TOP) Call Center to obtain agency contact information during our customer service hours.

• Toll Free: (800) 304-3107
• TDD number: (866) 297-0517

If you are a state representative and would like more information on enrolling your state in the TOP UIC Debt Program, please contact the Treasury Offset Division at (202) 874-0540.

View the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) UIC Debts Presentation (August 2011)

TOP UIC Debts Presentation Questions and Answers (44 kb)

TOP UIC Debts Presentation Transcript (78 kb)