WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department will send letters to about 380,000 veterans to remind them that they owe the federal government and that money can be withheld from their Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rebate checks this summer.
The rebates are a result of President Bush's tax-cut bill and will be mailed during a 10-week period starting July 23.
Federal law says that when veterans, their dependents or survivors owe more than $25 to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the debts are more than 180 days overdue, VA officials must report the debts to Treasury for possible offset from most government payments.
From January 1 through June 22, VA referred more than 314,000 health care debts and more than 71,000 benefit debts (education, home loans, etc.) to the Treasury. The combined amount owed is approximately $184 million.
The Treasury Department will notify veterans in writing about anticipated deductions. The letters will include the name of the VA agency that is owed money and a point of contact who will answer questions about their debt.
VA has already mailed letters to each beneficiary notifying him or her of an outstanding debt and the possible referral of the debt to the Treasury Department for collection. The VA letter also provided a toll-free number for making payment arrangements to avoid further action. Those who did not pay their debts were referred to the Treasury Department.
