I was in a chapter 13 during 2018 and the IRS kept my refund. Am I allowed to deduct that refunded amount they kept and put it towards my 2019 taxes?

[AmyC]

No. Your money was taken for debt not a tax payment.

[rwasek]

Actually it was not applied to a debt.  It was taken and not applied to anything owed for debt or taxes. 

[GiseleD]

The IRS offset this for a reason, and you cannot take a tax deduction for an offset refund. 

The IRS can offset refunds for many different things:

• Past-due child support;
• Federal agency non-tax debts;
• State income tax obligations; or
• Certain unemployment compensation debts owed to a state.

I recommend contacting the Department of Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service (BFS) Offset Line to get details on your offset. You can contact the BFS call center at 800-304-3107, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST. Please keep in mind that you will need to wait until the IRS reopens to make this call. 

@rwasek