Sorry for the delay in your refund. But it sounds like your refund is in fact being used to pay your unemployment debt. Have you contacted the Bureau of Fiscal Service (1-800-304-3107) they conduct the offset program. To further complicate your situation, if you have not filed your 2016 return and the IRS sees a potential tax liability, it most certainly will hold your refund. Will you owe for your 2016 taxes? I am surprised that when you called the IRS they did not talk to you about that.
The IRS lists the following obligations which can be
collected from tax refunds:
-
federal
tax
- state income
tax,
- state
unemployment compensation debts,
- child or
spousal support,
- a federal
nontax debt, such as a student loan
I have no way of knowing or finding out when your refund will be released. I do recommend you call the IRS again and inquire. I also recommend you prepare and file your 2016 tax return ASAP.
I would recommend you call Bureau of the Fiscal
Service at (1) 800-304-3107 or TDD 866-297-0517 to find out if your refund may be
offset if you have not done so. Follow the prompts. It will ask
for the Social Security number for which the debt is attached. For more information about refund offsets see BFS
https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301770
