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

Business in New York Being Buried by Heavy Tax Load

New York, New York: It’s the town so nice they named it twice. But when it comes to taxes in one of the world’s greatest states, things aren’t so nice. That’s because New York is one of the worst places to live if you don’t want to pay a lot of taxes.  New York has…

Thinking About Loaning Cash to Your Business?

Are you looking to start a business, or is your current business in need of some cash? Maybe you can’t get a loan from a bank, or maybe you would rather not use a bank. What about lending some of your own money to your company? Can you do that? Yes, you can, but you’ll…

Tips for Filing Your Tax Return

Which Tax Extensions Will Affect Your 2014 Return?

Are You Ready for Your 2014 Taxes? Although many people might answer yes to that question, the fact is taxpayers can only do so much as long as Congress is dragging its feet on several expired tax extenders. The fact that these extenders are still sitting in limbo is nothing new. It happens almost every…

So-Called Temporary Recession Tax Not So Temporary

Remember the great recession of 2009? Although the recession may now be a thing of the past, some so-called “temporary” taxes are having a harder time fading into the background. That’s because many states throughout the country are still collecting on tax bills that were enacted solely for the purpose of refilling public reserves. Fourteen…