The provisions of 26 U.S.C. 6402(d) and 31 U.S.C. 3720A authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to offset a delinquent debt owed the Federal Government from the tax refund due a taxpayer when other collection efforts have failed to recover the amount due. In addition, FHFA is authorized to collect debts by means of administrative offset under 31 U.S.C. 3716 and, as part of the debt collection process, to notify the United States Department of Treasury's Financial Management Service of the amount of such debt for collection by tax refund offset.

The following terms apply to this subpart D—

Debt or claim means an amount of money, funds or property which has been determined by FHFA to be due to the Federal Government from any person, organization, or entity, except another Federal agency.

(1) A debt becomes eligible for tax refund offset procedures if:

(i) It cannot currently be collected pursuant to the salary offset procedures of 5 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1);

(ii) The debt is ineligible for administrative offset or cannot be collected currently by administrative offset; and

(iii) The requirements of this section are otherwise satisfied.

(2) All judgment debts are past due for purposes of this subpart D. Judgment debts remain past due until paid in full.

Debtor means a person who owes a debt or a claim. The term “person” includes any individual, organization or entity, except another Federal agency.

Dispute means a written statement supported by documentation or other evidence that all or part of an alleged debt is not past due or legally enforceable, that the amount is not the amount currently owed, that the outstanding debt has been satisfied, or in the case of a debt reduced to judgment, that the judgment has been satisfied or stayed.

Notice means the information sent to the debtor pursuant to § 1208.53. The date of the notice is that date shown on the notice letter as its date of issuance.

Tax refund offset means withholding or reducing a tax refund payment by an amount necessary to satisfy a debt owed by the payee(s) of a tax refund payment.

Tax refund payment means any overpayment of Federal taxes to be refunded to the person making the overpayment after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) makes the appropriate credits.

(a) Referral to the Department of the Treasury. (1) FHFA may refer any past due, legally enforceable nonjudgment debt of an individual, organization, or entity to the Department of the Treasury for tax refund offset if FHFA's or the referring agency's rights of action accrued more than three months but less than 10 years before the offset is made.

(2) Debts reduced to judgment may be referred at any time.

(3) Debts in amounts lower than $25 are not subject to referral.

(4) In the event that more than one debt is owed, the tax refund offset procedures shall be applied in the order in which the debts became past due.

(5) FHFA shall notify the Department of the Treasury of any change in the amount due promptly after receipt of payment or notice of other reductions.

(b) Notice. FHFA shall provide the debtor with written notice of its intent to offset before initiating the offset. Notice shall be mailed to the debtor at the current address of the debtor, as determined from information obtained from the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6103(m)(2), (4), (5) or maintained by FHFA. The notice sent to the debtor shall state the amount of the debt and inform the debtor that:

(1) The debt is past due;

(2) FHFA intends to refer the debt to the Department of the Treasury for offset from tax refunds that may be due to the taxpayer;

(3) FHFA intends to provide information concerning the delinquent debt exceeding $100 to a consumer reporting bureau unless such debt has already been disclosed; and

(4) Before the debt is reported to a consumer reporting agency, if applicable, and referred to the Department of the Treasury for offset from tax refunds, the debtor has 65 calendar days from the date of notice to request a review under paragraph (d) of this section.

(c) Report to consumer reporting agency. If the debtor neither pays the amount due nor presents evidence that the amount is not past due or is satisfied or stayed, FHFA will report the debt to a consumer reporting agency at the end of the notice period, if applicable, and refer the debt to the Department of the Treasury for offset from the taxpayer's Federal tax refund. FHFA shall certify to the Department of the Treasury that reasonable efforts have been made by FHFA to obtain payment of such debt.

(d) Request for review. A debtor may request a review by FHFA if he or she believes that all or part of the debt is not past due or is not legally enforceable, or in the case of a judgment debt, that the debt has been stayed or the amount satisfied, as follows:

(1) The debtor must send a written request for review to FHFA at the address provided in the notice.

(2) The request must state the amount disputed and reasons why the debtor believes that the debt is not past due, is not legally enforceable, has been satisfied, or if a judgment debt, has been satisfied or stayed.

(3) The request must include any documents that the debtor wishes to be considered or state that additional information will be submitted within the time permitted.

(4) If the debtor wishes to inspect records establishing the nature and amount of the debt, the debtor must make a written request to FHFA for an opportunity for such an inspection. The office holding the relevant records not exempt from disclosure shall make them available for inspection during normal business hours within one week from the date of receipt of the request.

(5) The request for review and any additional information submitted pursuant to the request must be received by FHFA at the address stated in the notice within 65 calendar days of the date of issuance of the notice.

(6) In reaching its decision, FHFA shall review the dispute and shall consider its records and any documentation and arguments submitted by the debtor. FHFA shall send a written notice of its decision to the debtor. There is no administrative appeal of this decision.

(7) If the evidence presented by the debtor is considered by a non-FHFA agent or other entities or persons acting on behalf of FHFA, the debtor shall be accorded at least 30 calendar days from the date the agent or other entity or person determines that all or part of the debt is past due and legally enforceable to request review by FHFA of any unresolved dispute.

(8) Any debt that previously has been reviewed pursuant to this section or any other section of this part, or that has been reduced to a judgment, may not be disputed except on the grounds of payments made or events occurring subsequent to the previous review or judgment.

(9) To the extent that a debt owed has not been established by judicial or administrative order, a debtor may dispute the existence or amount of the debt or the terms of repayment. With respect to debts established by a judicial or administrative order, FHFA review will be limited to issues concerning the payment or other discharge of the debt.

Where FHFA has previously given a debtor any of the required notice and review opportunities with respect to a particular debt, FHFA is not required to duplicate such notice and review opportunities prior to initiating tax refund offset.