Unfortunately, news has come out that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has collected nearly $75 million in tax refunds from about 300,000 Americans, without providing sufficient information as to why their money was confiscated.
The news comes from an audit by the SSA’s Inspector General Patrick O’Carroll Jr. Last year, we discussed how there were many stories in the media about people who were having their tax returns collected due to Social Security overpayments made to their parents.
At the time, the SSA announced it would put an end to these types of collection attempts. However, prior to the announcement, thousands of Americans had already been affected.
According to the Washington Post, the Inspector General audit shows that in more than half of the cases where tax returns were confiscated, the debts were collected from people who were 21 to 40 years old. Of the cases, nearly 8,000 confiscations involved “people who had never received any notice of a debt.”
To read the SSA’s report, you can click on the source link below.
Our Social Security Disability Attorneys Can Assist You
It is regrettable that people whose parents may have incorrectly received Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are having to pay money back, often decades after overpayments occurred. Our hope is that the SSA does something to either eliminate this practice or scale it back and provide people with explanations as to why their money is being confiscated.
If the SSA garnishes your tax return for any reason, you should contact the agency directly to attempt to get answers. Although this news is alarming, it should not stop you from collecting Social Security benefits if you are eligible to receive them.
If you need assistance with a Social Security application or appeal, contact our Tulsa SSDI attorneys today. For more information about the disability process, you can visit our Social Security FAQ page.
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security disability attorneys
Source: http://oig.ssa.gov/sites/default/files/audit/full/pdf/A-04-14-14104.pdf
