Official Site of The State of New Jersey

If you are unable to repay the amount overpaid to you, you may request a waiver. Waiver requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Overpayments cannot be waived if the overpayment was due to fraud by the claimant.

A claimant may be eligible for a waiver of overpayment if

• The claimant is not at fault; AND
• The claimant did not misrepresent or withhold any facts in order to obtain benefits.

To request an overpayment waiver, log in to check your claim status. Scroll down and click the waiver application button, then enter your email address and submit the request.

You should receive an email questionnaire within 24 hours of your request. After you complete and submit the questionnaire, your waiver application will be reviewed, and you will receive a determination by email. If you don’t agree with the determination, you can appeal by following the instructions in that email. 

To stop collection actions, pay off your debt completely. If you can't pay it all at once, it's best to set up a regular monthly payment plan. By following this plan, you can avoid most collection actions, such as having your tax refunds taken away. However, any future unemployment benefits will still be used to pay off your debt until it is paid in full.

The easiest way to pay is by going to myoverpayment.nj.gov.

It’s important that you continue to certify for benefits each week because once the overpayment is repaid you will begin to receive benefits.

In the past you may have received Unemployment Insurance benefits to which you were not entitled. We will recover the overpaid benefits using your current benefits.

No. In accordance with the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation law, any available benefits you are currently entitled to must be used to recoup (offset) any outstanding UI/DI debt principal that you may owe. A monthly agreement will not prevent this from occurring. Once the principal benefits have been recouped, any remaining balances of fines and interest will be your responsibility to repay. Unemployment Insurance benefits cannot be used to recoup any fines and interest you may owe.

If you (or your spouse) have an outstanding liability with this agency, your New Jersey state income tax refund and/or rebates will be withheld and applied to this debt. These collection actions can be prevented by entering into a formal installment agreement with us and maintaining the required monthly installment payments.

Unemployment benefits are income for federal tax purposes. So, money may have been withheld (like with your paycheck) to offset your federal tax obligation before it was deposited to your account. Or there could have been other deductions taken out of your payment, for child support, for example, before the payment was sent to you. What you receive are the net unemployment benefits (the amount left over after any deductions).

When you have an overpayment, you are responsible to repay the entire amount of the benefit (the gross amount of the benefit), which includes what was deposited plus any deductions.    

If you received a letter stating that your “Refund has been satisfied” it means that your debt has been paid in full. Regardless of whether you made your payment by check or online, if you paid more than you owed, you’ll get a check for the extra money. Once your debt is paid in full make sure to contact your bank to stop any automatic payments.

Repayment or discharge will not automatically lift the judgment on your credit report. You can follow this instruction to remove the judgment from your credit report, or consult an attorney. If you need a letter confirming that your debt/judgment has been satisfied, call 609-376-5945 and select option 3.

Please note that NJDOL will send a Warrant of Satisfaction to the New Jersey Superior Court for processing 30 days after your final payment is posted. If you want to check the status of a lien, you can search the Court’s Judgment Search page.  

To receive benefits, you must contact the Division of Fraud Prevention and Risk Management as soon as you file your new Unemployment Insurance claim.

Contact them by phone at 609-376-5945 and select option 2.

Or notify them in writing at the address below. Include your phone number in your letter.

Division of Fraud Prevention and Risk Management 
Attn: Bankruptcy Unit
PO Box 951
Trenton, NJ 08625-0951

The Treasury Offset Program (TOP) is used to collect delinquent debts owed to Federal agencies and states in accordance with Federal law. Federal payments, such as Federal Tax Refunds, are used in whole or in part to offset delinquent debts that qualify for collection by offset. If a claimant’s IRS refund was offset, the funds were used to pay the delinquent, outstanding debt that was incurred from the overpayment of Unemployment benefits. Collection of debt in this manner is only done after all other attempts have failed. 

If you have an outstanding overpayment balance, it may be subject to submission to the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Only delinquent debts are submitted to the IRS for collection of available tax refunds. Monthly statements are sent by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJLWD) advising of the debt owed and warning that NJLWD will submit your debt to the IRS for offset of your future Federal Income Tax refund(s). Additional interest, penalties, and other charges may be assessed on the balance you currently owe.

The TOP offset process is defined under 26 USC 6402(f) and Title 31CFR 285.8. The IRS is not required to send you further notice of the TOP offset program when reducing your refund to pay off your debt balance.

If you have further questions about why there was an offset against your federal income tax refund, write to:

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Division of Fraud Prevention and Risk Management 
PO Box 951
Trenton, NJ 08625-0951

Please include your claimant ID number and a daytime telephone number where you may be reached with any correspondence you submit. Your inquiry with the Refund Processing Unit of the Division of Fraud Prevention and Risk Management regarding this overpayment is limited to establishing a formal agreement to repay the debt. You will not be able to appeal or request additional investigation into the debt unless you can provide documented proof of 1) identity theft, OR, 2) that you have already repaid this debt in full.

You also may contact us about TOP at 609-659-4050.

For more information, contact us about TOP at 609-659-4050.