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J-Kay-2
Guest
This story will make you mad:
Waiting for your tax refund? You might be in for a nasty surprise…The Washington Post revealed that the Social Security Administration is now garnishing Americans’ tax refunds to recover money that was overpaid to their deceased parents, up to 44 years ago. Since 2011, they’ve confiscated $424 million. Normally, children aren’t responsible for parents’ debts unless they agree to it as adults. And the statute of limitations on refunding overpayments is six years. But an exception for Social Security was hidden in a massive, 2008 farm bill. The SSA sends a hearing notice to the recipients’ last known address, where they likely haven’t lived in years. The notice is never received, the government wins by default, and voila! Your dead parents’ Social Security overpayment is deducted from your tax refund. After a public outcry, the SSA scaled the time window back to ten years – still four beyond the statute of limitations. But when it comes to taking our money, the federal government recognizes no limitations.
Social Security advocates are always warning how terrible it would be to replace it with a private retirement fund. But this story shines a light on one of the biggest differences between Social Security and a 401K. Money you control can be left to your family. Money the government controls is theirs for good. For instance, I have a friend whose self-employed parents struggled for 40 years to pay double doses of Social Security taxes. Then, they both died at 66, having gotten back only a fraction of what they paid in. He asked me which IRS form he should use to demand a refund of his parents’ overpayment to the Social Security Administration. I said, sorry, that’s the one thing there is no government form for.
[ Mike Huckabee ]
Waiting for your tax refund? You might be in for a nasty surprise…The Washington Post revealed that the Social Security Administration is now garnishing Americans’ tax refunds to recover money that was overpaid to their deceased parents, up to 44 years ago. Since 2011, they’ve confiscated $424 million. Normally, children aren’t responsible for parents’ debts unless they agree to it as adults. And the statute of limitations on refunding overpayments is six years. But an exception for Social Security was hidden in a massive, 2008 farm bill. The SSA sends a hearing notice to the recipients’ last known address, where they likely haven’t lived in years. The notice is never received, the government wins by default, and voila! Your dead parents’ Social Security overpayment is deducted from your tax refund. After a public outcry, the SSA scaled the time window back to ten years – still four beyond the statute of limitations. But when it comes to taking our money, the federal government recognizes no limitations.
Social Security advocates are always warning how terrible it would be to replace it with a private retirement fund. But this story shines a light on one of the biggest differences between Social Security and a 401K. Money you control can be left to your family. Money the government controls is theirs for good. For instance, I have a friend whose self-employed parents struggled for 40 years to pay double doses of Social Security taxes. Then, they both died at 66, having gotten back only a fraction of what they paid in. He asked me which IRS form he should use to demand a refund of his parents’ overpayment to the Social Security Administration. I said, sorry, that’s the one thing there is no government form for.
[ Mike Huckabee ]