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.
Seven Signs Your Noncompliance Will Be Considered Willful
Seven Signs Your Noncompliance Will Be Considered Willful There are many ways taxpayers can get the attention of the IRS. Although a lot of people make innocent mistakes when they file their tax returns, there are others who willfully look for ways to skip out on the taxes they owe. The IRS does treat those…
Make Sure Your Heirs Inherit What You Want
Make Sure Your Heirs Inherit What You Want. The saying goes that their only two things that are certain in life: death and taxes. While people can generate endless amounts of money when they’re alive, they can’t live forever and they can’t take that wealth with them when they die. However, they can have a…
Will Taxing the Rich Even More Improve Inequality?
Will Taxing the Rich Even More Improve Inequality? It’s been the cry of democratic lawmakers and many of the less fortunate for years: “We need to tax the wealthy even more.” “The rich have to pay their fair share of taxes, too.” The problem is the rich already pay a huge portion of the country’s…
It Pays to Be Rich for These Five Tax Breaks
It Pays to Be Rich for These Five Tax Breaks Although it’s true that the ultra-wealthy are heavily taxed, and in many cases unfairly, there are also some tax break advantages that favor the upper class more than those in the middle. Let’s take a look at some of these breaks. Most common and first…