Wondering Where Your Tax Refund Might Be? Check Your Student Loan Debt

By now millions of taxpayers have already filed their returns and have received their refunds. Still, there are others who are waiting for that check to show up in their account. For some, that wait can be very difficult and even cause a little anxiety. In most cases, there’s no need to worry. Just give it enough time and the IRS should be sending your refund soon. On the other hand, for some people who owe money on their student loans, the news might not be so good.

Several taxpayers are discovering this year that the refund they were expecting to get has instead been allocated for something else: to pay off their student loan debt. While this may come as a surprise to many, the law allows the Department of Education to take your tax refund if your student loan debt is in default. They can do this by using the Treasury Offset Program, which allows federal payments you would have otherwise received, to be taken and used to pay off debts to federal agencies.

However, according to the law, anyone who has a loan in default should first receive a warning that his or her tax refund could be used for paying down that student loan debt. In addition, if you do lose part or all of your refund, you can contest the decision. However, in order to win your protest essentially you have to prove that your student loan is not actually in default.

Posted in

How to Stay Focused on Work: 6 Simple Tips

How to Stay Focused on Work: 6 Simple Tips For most of us, staying focused while working is pretty difficult, even at the best of times. In today’s workplace, it’s even harder than ever – with so much information coming at us constantly, and easy access to the internet, staying focused on tasks can seem…

Transitioning from Employee to Entrepreneur

Transitioning from Employee to Entrepreneur If you are out of work, have you ever considered creating your own job? As of April 2013, 7.5% of the American population are unemployed. The downturn of the economy has led many to wonder where they are going to find work, but has also opened opportunities for many to…

China Now World's Sixth Largest Economy

China Now World’s Sixth Largest Economy

China Now World’s Sixth Largest Economy China on Tuesday raised its estimate of the output of the world’s fastest-expanding major economy by a sixth, a revision that leaves growth better balanced but may increase pressure on Beijing to let the yuan rise faster. The new estimate, based on a vast nationwide census, hoists China above…

Asset Transfer Checklist

Asset Transfer Checklist Planning for the distribution of a lifetime of accumulated wealth can be complicated. The process involves drafting and regularly updating your will and making the necessary trust arrangements. It requires understanding exactly what you own and how to transfer what you own (and in what manner) to family members or other beneficiaries.…