Treasury Offset Program
Contact Information
Debtors and Agencies with questions regarding the offset process may call the Customer Call Center at:
(785) 296-4500
Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
(excluding observed State holidays)
The Customer Call Center will require your Tax Identification Number (Social Security Number or Federal Employer Identification Number) in order to reference your account.
The Kansas Treasury Offset Program (KTOP) does not have detailed information regarding debts and will only be able to provide callers with the contact name and phone number of the creditor agency to which their debt is owed, as well as the debt amount. Each creditor agency is responsible for maintaining their debt records within KTOP and for answering debtor questions concerning their debt.
To obtain more information about KTOP, please contact:
Kansas Treasury Offset Program
PO Box 2713
Topeka, KS 66601-2713
KTOP@ks.gov
(785) 296-1477 (fax)
Background
Kansas Treasury Offset Program (KTOP)
Governed by Kansas Statutes Annotated (K.S.A.) 75-6216, the Kansas Treasury Offset Program (KTOP) launched in March 2015. K.S.A. 75-6216 allows the Secretary of Administration (or designee) to enter into a reciprocal agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS).
The State of Kansas and BFS have entered into a reciprocal agreement between both parties. The State Reciprocal Program (SRP) is available only to state agencies and U.S. territories. The SRP agreement provides for the collection of delinquent state debt by offset of federal non-tax payments, as well as for the collection of delinquent federal non-tax debt by offset of state payments.
States participate in the SRP as both a creditor agency and a payment agency. A creditor agency is an agency or state that requests BFS services in collecting the state's delinquent debt by inclusion in the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). States that submit their debts to TOP for collection are considered creditor agencies. TOP collects on debts by reducing federal payments and subsequently transferring collected amounts back to the creditor agency to which the debt is owed.
The State of Kansas, as a creditor agency, sends debts that are eligible for non-tax payment offset to BFS. BFS withholds all or part of federal non-tax payments and subsequently transfers collected amounts back to the creditor agency.
The State of Kansas, as a payment agency, is responsible for withholding state payments to satisfy federal non-tax debts.
Treasury Offset Program (TOP)
BFS carries out government-wide delinquent debt collection authorities under the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), Public Law Number 104-134, as amended. Among other things, the DCIA directed federal disbursing officials to offset federal payments to collect delinquent debts the federal agencies certified to the Secretary of the Treasury as valid and legally enforceable debts. In order to implement this section of the DCIA and other debt collection authorities, BFS established the Treasury Offset Program (TOP).
TOP contains a database of delinquent debts, including non-tax debts owed to the United States. TOP matches information about those debts with information about federal payments that are about to be disbursed. If the name and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) on a payment matches with the name and TIN on a debt, that payment will be offset in whole or in part to collect the delinquent debt.
For additional information regarding TOP, click on the following link:
TOP Frequently Asked Questions
Requirements
Federal Payment Offset Requirements
Federal payment offset shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of 31 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 285.6. Before submitting a debt for federal payment offset, a state must comply with all of the due process requirements of 31 CFR Part 285.
For a debt to be sent to TOP, the minimum dollar amount of the debt must be equal to or greater than $25 and the delinquency date must be within the prior 10 years unless there has been a judgment allowing for collection beyond the normal 10 years.
BFS will send offset notices to the debtor at the time the federal payment is reduced for an offset. The notices will contain contact information provided by the state.
State Payment Offset Requirements
The offset of state payments to collect delinquent federal non-tax debts shall be conducted in accordance with 31 CFR Part 285.6 and K.S.A. 75-6216. Before submitting a debt to TOP, federal creditor agencies shall provide the due process requirements set forth in 31 CFR Part 285, which apply to the offset of all payments in TOP.
For a debt to be sent to TOP, the minimum dollar amount of the debt must be equal to or greater than $25 and the delinquency date must be within the prior 10 years unless there has been a judgment allowing for collection beyond the normal 10 years.
KTOP will send a notice to the debtor at the time of the offset. The notice will contain contact information for the federal agency owed and the state agency whose payment was offset. The state agency whose payment is offset will receive an email from KTOP notifying them of the voucher and amount of the offset.
Certifying Debts
Pursuant to 31 United States Code (U.S.C.) 3716(a), the head of each creditor agency (or designee) must certify each debt it submits to TOP through KTOP. Specifically, creditor agencies must certify to KTOP that the debt is past due, legally enforceable, and that the debtor was provided with a notice and an opportunity for a review in accordance with the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3716(a) and other applicable laws. In addition, creditor agencies must certify that no debt submitted is more than 10 years delinquent, unless those debts may be legally offset if more than 10 years delinquent.
To download the delinquent debt submission form, click on the following link: DA-56
Due Diligence / Due Process Requirements
Creditor agencies must provide debtors with due process prior to referring debts for offset. Regulations detailing due process requirements are at 31 CFR Parts 285 and 901. Creditor agencies must also review regulations and laws authorizing or affecting their particular debts to determine if they contain additional due process requirements.
At least 60 days before submitting a debt to TOP, the creditor agency is required to provide written notification to the debtor of the agency's intention to collect the debt through administrative offset of federal payments. Due diligence may include the following:
- Inspect and copy creditor agency records related to the debt;
- Request a review of the determination that they owe the debt; and
- Enter into an acceptable written repayment agreement with the creditor agency (see 31 U.S.C. 3716(a)).
For additional information regarding KTOP, click on the following link:
KTOP Frequently Asked Questions
How to Start Using KTOP
So that creditor agencies do not have to enter their debts into both the Kansas Debt Recovery System (KDRS) and KTOP, KDRS is programmed to sync debts with KTOP. Creditor agencies that would like for the Department of Administration to perform the initial transfer of their existing KDRS debts to KTOP should complete a Delinquency Date Agreement form and return it by one of the following methods:
Email: KTOP@ks.gov
Fax: KTOP (785) 296-2697
Agencies currently using KDRS:
Complete the additional fields required for TOP submission for each debt entered into KDRS. For more information, please refer to the KDRS User Manual and/or the DA-56 instructions.
Agencies currently NOT using KDRS:
- Contact KTOP (see Contact Information above) and provide the following:
- Agency Name
- Agency Address
- Contact Name
- Phone Number
- Email Address
Each creditor agency must have at least one user that will have access to KTOP. Provide the contact name, phone number, and email address of each individual that should be established as a KTOP user for the agency.
- The agency will be set up in KTOP with a unique Creditor Agency Number.
- The designated user(s) will be contacted by KTOP and emailed instructions on how to access the system. Each user will be able to:
- access the KTOP User Manuals in pdf format
- access their creditor agency's debtor records
- input new debts
- certify debts
- post adjustments to existing debt records
- perform various searches
- Start submitting debts via manual entry in KTOP or pasting entry utilizing the DA-56 spreadsheet.
Resources
Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS)
Kansas Statutes Annotated (K.S.A.)
KTOP Frequently Asked Questions
Policy Manual 8,001
Management of Receivables
Policy Manual 8,002
Setoff Program Availability Collect Delinquent Accounts
Documents and Forms
DA-56 Form (updated 1/2015)
Instructions Only
KTOP User Manual (updated 3/2015)
Acronyms Only
Definitions Only
Letters to Agencies
Collection Transfer Notice
(sent to creditor agencies)
Notice of Offset
(sent to payor agencies)
Letters to Debtors
KTOP Offset Receipt
(federal payment for state debt)
KTOP Notice of Intent to Offset
(federal payment for state debt)
KTOP Offset Notice
(state payment for federal debt)
Sample of Due Diligence Letter
PDF Format or Word Format
(sent by creditor agency)
Sample Offset Notice
(sent by payor agency)