The IRS Where's my Refund tool may show that your federal tax refund was offset for a past due obligation. However, the listed balance of your refund may not take into account all offsets your tax return has accrued. If this is the case, the refund you received may be lower than the balance of your refund shown through the IRS "Where's my Refund" tool. Please note that if you used the File and Go option to pay for your preparation fees, the fees will be taken out of the amount released by the IRS following any offsets.
If your refund is reduced, you will receive a letter from the Treasury Offset Department of the Bureau of Fiscal Services detailing the reason for your offset. You may additionally contact the Bureau of Fiscal Service by calling 800-304-3107 if you have questions regarding your offset.