Sunday, May 22, 2011

Can Collection Agency Take My Tax Refund?

If you're one of the many lucky Americans who receive a tax refund at the end of the year, the last thing you want to have to worry about is having your refund snatched away from you by bill collectors. Unfortunately, if you owe debt to a collection agency and the collection agency has a judgment against you, losing your tax refund is a very real possibility. If you know your tax refund is at risk of being seized, there are steps you can take to protect your money and prevent collectors from garnishing your federal and state tax refund money.

Tax Refunds Exempt From Garnishment

Collection agencies love garnishment because it provides them with a way to recover unpaid debts without having to rely on the debtor to send in a payment each month. Garnishment ensures that payments arrive on time each and every month until the debt is paid in full.

Certain types of income, such as disability, unemployment, child support, etc. are all exempt for collection purposes. Collection agencies can neither garnish these or levy them directly from your bank account. Your tax refund is a special case, however. While debt collectors cannot garnish your tax refund from the IRS before its sent your way, once you deposit it into your bank account it becomes fair game for judgment creditors to seize.

Government Debt Collection

I can't bring up tax refunds and claim that creditors cannot garnish them when there is one glaring exception to this rule – the government. If you owe back taxes or unpaid student loans, rest assured your tax refund will either be garnished or withheld in its entirety.

You see, its entirely too much trouble for the IRS to work with commercial creditors in order to facilitate garnishment of tax refund money. Your right to your full tax refund, even if a creditor holds a judgment against you, isn't a way for the government to ensure that you have the money you need. It's merely inconvenient for the IRS to permit creditors to garnish tax refunds before they are sent out.

How do I know this? All other forms of income that are exempt from garnishment are exempt due to a special status as a "benefit" (usually, but not always, a federal one). These benefits are exempt from both types of garnishment. Your tax refund is not a benefit of any sort. It's your money. It was always your money. You just used it to pay your taxes. It's no more exempt from seizure than money you receive when you return an item to a department store.

Protecting Your Tax Refund From Seizure

Because debt collectors cannot garnish your tax refund directly from the IRS, you should receive your full refund. Provided you cash your refund rather than depositing it into your bank account, debt collectors – even those with a judgment against you – will not be able to touch it.

Get your tax refund on a pre-paid Visa card.


One thing to remember: If you are e-filing, request that the IRS mail you your refund via a check or prepaid Visa card (yes, they do that. Cool, huh?) rather than using direct deposit to deposit the money into your checking or savings account. While direct deposit is much faster than getting your refund through the mail, its also much safer and less stressful than waiting with baited breath for your refund to clear before racing to the bank to withdraw it before the collection agency can freeze your bank account.


Related Posts:

Funds Exempt From Bank Account Garnishment

Make Yourself Judgment Proof

Checking Account Garnishment

100 comments:

  1. can they garnish this prepaid visa card? Or can you get the card quick and take the money out? I don't really want the money laying around though is there any way for them to find out about this card and freeze it or garnish it?

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  2. No, they can't garnish your prepaid Visa card. There are not protocols in place for that form of garnishment. Not yet, anyway.

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    1. Thank you Lee, just the answer I've been searching for all day. :D Your information helped me tremendously!

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    2. Maybe this has changed this year. I filed for a pre-paid visa card for my 2012 refund and recieved a letter in the mail informing me that all of my return was intercepted to pay a debt that was owed to the U.S. Department of Education. I think it is better to do it by mail just to be extra safe. Although I was able to get my state return on the pre-paid card.

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    3. Chance,

      I don't think anything has changed. The U.S. Department of Education is a government entity. While private collectors can't intercept tax returns, the government can – regardless of whether you use direct deposit, get a check or sent the money to a prepaid account. So, if it makes you feel any better, you didn't lose your money due to any mistake that you made. It would have been withheld no matter what you did.

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  3. If I have my tax refund direct deposited into someone elses bank account that has outstanding credit and pays their bills on time, can they garnish it then?

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    1. If you owe state or fed gov money you tax will be garnished well bofore it hits the bank so that is of no use..im a debt collector..sad but true

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  4. I'm not sure that the IRS will deposit the money into someone else's bank account. I'm not up to date on that sort of thing. But...if they are willing to do that then no, a collection agency couldn't garnish it.

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  5. If I already have a debt collection agency that has a court ordered wage garnishment on me,will they be able to take my tax refund also? The papers only state wage garnishment.

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    Replies
    1. They can't take your tax refund through a wage garnishment order. Unless you live in Delaware, they can return to court and request a bank levy. If you deposit your tax refund into your bank account, they can use the levy order to seize it. They cannot seize it directly from the IRS before you get your hands on it.

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    2. What if they already have seized it, before I could even touch it? I got a notice in the mail stating, my whole refund was being sent to my school loan. Who can I contact to have them not take the full amount? What can I say? Can they seriously do that??

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    3. They have done it to me 2 years in a row, even though the 1st year I was on unemployment and was "exempt" they still took it and refused to return it - it cost me not paying my bills so now I am deeper in the hole. They don't care what so ever! The worst part is they *@# did not even apply this to my principal it went to the interest. Which if I have to pay all the so called interest and late fees I will never repay my loans. DONT GET STUDENT LOANS!!!!!

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  6. I e-file my tax return and IRS sent the refund by direct deposit to my checking account. However, I overdrawn the account, and it has negative balance. The bank decided to closed my account on Feb. 27, but the IRS sent the refund to my checking account on March 1 (3 Days after my account was closed by the bank). Now the bank is holding the fund and want to apply it to the overdrawn balance. Does bank have right to seize my refund even the account was closed by the bank before the refund was issued? Any comments or help would be greatly appreciated.

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  7. If my car was recently repocessed will the auto company have the right to seize my tax refund?

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  8. As with anyone you owe debts to, the IRS is serious about collecting their money and may even have more legal recourse than typical creditors to collect their money. However, there are several ways to manage tax debts easily and without disturbing your monthly budget.

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  9. I got a payday loan cant pay it can they keep my tax refund even If i do my taxes with my husbnd and he dosnt owe anything can they take the tax refund if we filled tog3ther and the check is under both our namez

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  10. if i have a debt for almost 19 yrs.and it has been sold three or four time to different company and whatever payment i gave well not show and this collection agency has a judgment against me will i loose my tax refund cause i have talk to them but don't want to get into an agreement n what can i do

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  11. They can't intercept your tax refund before it arrives unless you have it direct deposited into your bank account. Unless you live in Delaware, a collection agency with a judgment can levy your tax refund right out of your bank account. I'd either request a check and cash that check or request the money on a pre-paid card. I think I heard something about the IRS doing that these days.

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  12. I love you, this information was right on time!! good thing i wondered and decided to do research rather then just listen to those i know!! because my money would of been gone!! your the best!!!

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  13. If I am exempt from wage garnisment, can a creditor still do a bank levy to get my tax return? Also, if I have a check sent to me and THEN deposit it, can they still touch it or would it basically be like doing direct deposit?

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    1. Depends on your state. If you live anywhere but Delaware, yes. Being exempt from wage garnishment doesn't protect you from a levy. If you deposit your tax refund check and they have a judgment against you, they can take it.

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  14. Can creditor access my account if my husband is the one with the judgement? I'm the only person on the account, but we'll be getting the refund from a joint filing. Should we just file separately? My husband will not be getting a refund if file separately.

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    1. If you live in a community property state then yes. If you don't then no. If the creditor is the government, they will take half of the refund and you'll receive the other half unless you live in a CP state in which case they can seize the whole thing provided your husband received the judgment after the two of you were married. A private creditor cannot touch any of the refund until you deposit it into your bank account. If you have a bank account that your husband is not on and you don't live in a CP state, the refund should be safe there. Best of luck.

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  15. hello.

    I received TAP (state aid for colleges) and the money never went through I am guessing because I failed more than one subject. so at the end of the semester I was stuck with a $2000 debt. I worked thr following year and made almost $6,000 dollars in half a year. My college sold my debt to a collection agency and now they send me letters asking for my debt. Therefor I wanna know if I file for a tax return, can the collection agency take it away?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. In most cases, all a CA can do is sue you and take the refund out of your bank account if you've already deposited it. When you owe the government, however, they have the right to seize your tax refund as payment before you ever receive it.

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  16. hello I use to owe money to my college until they sold my debt to a collection agency. I wanna do my tax return for 2012 and I am afraid that the money I will receive will be seized by the collection agency as some of my family members have told me, is this true?? thank you in advance for your help... god bless :)

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    1. That depends on whether the money you owe is a government-funded student loan or a private student loan. If you merely owe money to the college then no, they cannot intercept your tax refund (but they can seize it out of your bank account if they have a judgment against you). If you owe a government-funded student loan then yes, they can intercept and seize your tax refund when you file your taxes.

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  17. My biweekly checks are being garnished is there a way to check if my tax return will be garnished also. I had a reposition late last year

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    1. A private creditor cannot garnish your tax refund. The creditor has a judgment against you (otherwise it wouldn't be able to garnish your wages) and that generally gives the collector the ability to seize your refund from your bank account after you deposit it. If the collector is successfully obtaining payments through garnishment, however, it generally won't pursue a bank levy – but it could happen. Only government creditors can intercept and garnish tax refunds before the consumer receives them.

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  18. If my tax refund had already been seized by a student loan collection agency is there anything I can do to get it back?

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    1. You have the right to contest the IRS' seizure of your tax refund by filing an appeal with the Department of Education. You must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible to get your refund back. The criteria are too numerous to list here but, for example, if you already paid off the loan or made payment arrangements with the lender and are making payments as agreed, you can file an appeal. If you win, the IRS will return your refund money.

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  19. I own the department of revenue 132.58 will they take my whole entire tax refund check??

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    1. If your tax refund is $132.56 or less, yes. If your refund exceeds the amount you owe, the IRS can seize the amount you owe but will still send you the remaining amount. It's yours after all. And for an amount that small, they may not bother garnishing you at all – especially if the debt itself isn't terribly delinquent.

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  20. I have a judgement for a car loan against me could the car loan company take my tax refund even if Im already getting my tax return on a prepaid master card

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    1. If you're getting it on a prepaid card and the lender doesn't know about the prepaid card then no, I can see no way they could seize it. However, they may be legally entitled to it if they knew about it.

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  21. If I filed my taxes but I didnt have it going direct deposit can they still take it

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    1. I directly answered that question in the post.

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  22. Hi I made paymet arragments to a collection agency (I have a student loan) and I just got a letter from the IRS saying that they paid my entire refound to this company what can I do????

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    1. Unfortunately, the answer is usually nothing. That's one of the perils of defaulted student loans. They can and will intercept your tax refunds every year until the debt is satisfied. If you manage to rehabilitate your loan, your tax refunds will no longer be intercepted.

      The good news is that, under certain circumstances, you may be able to appeal the offset and get your tax refund back. Instructions for appealing the offset should be on the offset notification letter that you received.

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  23. I have a payment plan with a collection agency that take the money every month and they took my whole federal income tax can they do that and what action can I take to recover my money

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  24. Since the IRS won't let them intercept it (unless its for government debt), I'm guessing they took it out of your bank account. If the collection agency has a judgment against you then, unfortunately, they have the right to levy your bank account. Even if you're on a payment plan, collectors know that debtors often get tax refunds and will sometimes attempt to seize those refunds even if the debtor has never missed a payment.

    If there is no judgment and there is just a payment plan, contact your bank and dispute this transaction. Hopefully they can help you get your money back. And NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER give a collection agency your banking information! Ever!

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  25. I have a court ordered debt, my tax refund check is being directly deposited onto a H&R Block Prepaid Visa, will they garnish from my refund from my card?

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    1. It's unlikely, but I can't give you a flat-out "no" because it isn't impossible. Because you have a judgment against you, your creditor has the right to seize liquid assets. Technically, this includes your prepaid card. If the creditor is not aware of the card or the post-judgment interrogatory has already occurred, your money is most likely safe.

      If the judgment is very recent and the post-judgment interrogatory had not yet taken place, then you might find yourself in trouble. During the interrogatory the court will require you to disclose all of your assets – including the prepaid card – to the creditor. Once they know about it, they can try to seize it.

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  26. if i didn't have a judgement on my student loan in 2012 and i paid it my self can they still take my 2012 tax refund i just got a letter saying the student loan place just to my 2012 refund how is that legal?

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    1. Jimi, I receive comments in reverse order, so I answered your second question first. I wanted to also point out, however, that government entities like the IRS and the Department of Education do not need a judgment to seize your assets. They never have to sue you. If you're behind on payments, they have the right to seize pretty much whatever they like whenever they like – including assets that are exempt from most collection efforts, such as Social Security. That's not to say that the DoE doesn't sue, sometimes it does, but it doesn't have to.

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    2. The social security administation just seized my whole tax check of
      seven thousand dollars and my taxes where on an h n r block prepaid card they r saying i owe them ten thousand dollars how can i get my money back i never received any thing regarding this please help me

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    3. The social security administation just seized my whole tax check of
      seven thousand dollars and my taxes where on an h n r block prepaid card they r saying i owe them ten thousand dollars how can i get my money back i never received any thing regarding this please help me

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    4. The social security administation just seized my whole tax check of
      seven thousand dollars and my taxes where on an h n r block prepaid card they r saying i owe them ten thousand dollars how can i get my money back i never received any thing regarding this please help me

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    5. Please help me social securty just took my seven thousand dollar tax return and i have no idea why how can this be even possible please help mre before i call them

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    6. Please help me social securty just took my seven thousand dollar tax return and i have no idea why how can this be even possible please help mre before i call them

      Delete

  27. Hey lee u might be able to help me .. if i pay on a student loan in 2012 with out a wage garnishment can the student loan people still take my tax refund for 2012? seems that they did so id like to know if it was legal or not thanks lee -jimi

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    1. If your student loan was in default then yes, they'll withhold your tax refund regardless of whether or not they've garnished your wages or checking accounts in the past.

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  28. a portion of my refund was garnished for a student loan. My question is if I can fight and get my refund if I made 2 payments in the last 5 months?

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    1. The criteria you must meet to challenge the seizure of your tax refund are very strict. You can't contest the refund simply because you don't like the fact that they took it. If your loan is in default, they seize your tax refund. That's just the way it goes.

      Copy and paste the web address below into your browser for more information about contesting a tax refund offset:

      http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/collections/government-collection-tools/tax-offsets/

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  29. If I have my joint refund (with my husband) direct deposited into a joint account (with my son, who has nothing to do with my refund),can collection agencies garnish it?

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    1. State laws vary, but generally judgment creditors can garnish any account that has your name on it. Your spouse, however, may be entitled to demand that half the funds be returned to him. It depends on what your state laws say.

      Keep in mind a collection agency can't touch your assets without a judgment anyway. So if the company hasn't sued you, they can't just come along and take your money.

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  30. Quick question, I live at a ministry like a halway house, and I e- filed my taxes this year and had them direct deposited into the entire houses trust fund account... now everyone of the guys living there are on this trust fund account... can they get into this huge account that we all have access to and seize my refund?

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    1. When it comes to trust funds, I'm clueless. Strangely enough, I've never before encountered a situation where an individual had a trust fund to worry about.

      Now, if I had to guess – and mind you this is only a guess – I would suppose that the fact that the trust is administered by a nonprofit agency would make it extremely difficult and time consuming to garnish. It may not even be possible, depending on where you live. Nothing is 100% safe but cash, but it seems to be that a nonprofit trust would be much more secure than a checking account. Just a guess.

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    2. LEE,

      My soon to be ex husband just informed me that his tax refund was garnished by a debt collection agency yesterday. I already e-filed my taxes and we have always filed married but separate. We have never had a joint account or anything like that. How would I find out if my tax return will be garnished as well for his student loans?

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    3. Married filing separately generally protects you from your spouse's tax garnishment. Generally. This protection may not apply if you live in a community property state. I believe the IRS notifies garnishees by mail prior to the garnishment, but don't hold me to that. You always have the option of calling the IRS and asking. This may surprise you, but the IRS agents are usually very polite and helpful. No overseas outsourcing there.

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  31. Hi Lee,

    I just recieved a letter informing me that my tax return was intercepted by the IRS. This was to pay the US Department of Education - most likely a government agency. What bothers me about the whole scenario is I was very careful to apply for the net spend pre-paid card. I even recieved my state return in the mail on the card. But the Federal Return was intercepted, how could this have happened? I plan to call the collection agency and file a complaint, but I'm confused as to how this could have happened. It seems like they got to the payment before it was ever sent to the pre-paid card. It was not direct deposit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When you owe a debt to the government, the rules change. The collection agency didn't intercept your refund before it made it onto your prepaid card. What happened is that the IRS, knowing you owed a government debt, sent your refund directly to the collection agency rather than to you. This would not occur if you owed a commercial debt, such as a credit card debt. In that case, the IRS would send you your refund as specified. Seizing that refund after you get it is the collector's problem. If the collector is working for a government agency, however, the refund is withheld automatically.

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  32. Irs says they sent it to my bank 2 days ago will i for sure get if I have an offset? Or can they still garnish my income tax return for that offset? I don't understand if it was sent to my bank I should be seeing it by Monday the latest. I never got any notification from the people who have me in offset mail or email and it was sent to offset in May 2012 so it hasn't even been there a year. I just want my income tax return this year. I am hoping since it said sent to bank that I will for sure get it. I don't want them snatching it.

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    1. You don't mention who has the offset. If its the government, they can seize the debt out of your tax refund. Most of the time they do this before the refund can reach you to prevent you from hiding it. If its a collection agency or other non-government creditor, they need a judgment against you before they can seize your refund from your bank account. Lots of collectors claim they will take your refund from your bank account but don't have the judgment that would actually allow them to do so.

      Keep in mind that if your bank account is going to get levied, its gets frozen first. If you refund hasn't shown up but your bank account isn't frozen, odds are it hasn't been deposited and withdrawn without your knowledge.

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  33. my wages were being garnished for the amount of 936.18 it was payed off through my employer. the creditor still got my state tax refund in the amount of 390. how can I get my money back from them?

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    1. I need a little bit more information to be able to help you. First of all, was this a government debt or a private debt? Was the money garnished and gone by the time you received your tax refund, or did the creditor take it via a bank levy?

      Keep in mind that your debt has likely increased since the judgment was awarded (if the debt was commercial and there was, in fact, a judgment). Every state allows creditors to charge interest on judgments and those interest fees are often steep. What started out as a debt for $936.18 may have climbed to $1320 from fees--especially if its been several years since the judgment was awarded.

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  34. How long it takes they get judgment? I have debt to great lakes for student loan, is it private agency or government? thanks

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    1. The time limit for obtaining a judgment may vary, depending on when they decide to sue you. Great Lakes processes both federal and private student loans.

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  35. I got into a car accident but didn't realize my car insurance had lapsed for 24 hours prior so my insurance wouldn't cover it because I was between insurance companies regardless I now owe for this accident and it has gone to bell collections can they garnish my federal income tax check next year for 2013?

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  36. No. This isn't a federal debt, so they can't seize your tax return directly from the IRS. If they get a judgment against you, however, they can seize it once you deposit it in your bank account.

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  37. Question.. I received back pay from SSI and I'm getting monthly benefits and I do have a judgment from an apartment eviction and I've spoken to the collection agency about making monthly payments in the past but now that I have a new bank account and first account since the judgment can they find my account and take what I owe? Either way I want it paid because I'm trying to fix my credit but I'd rather pay on my terms monthly and not by them taking it in full from my account. I've had this account for almost two months and its making me nervous...

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    1. For starters, judgment or not, they can't take your SSI. Those funds are exempt from garnishment unless you owe a government debt and your old landlord isn't the federal government. If they try to seize your money, they'll freeze your bank account. At that point, you can just go to the bank and file an exemption form to regain access to your account. It is illegal for a commercial creditor to knowingly garnish exempt funds.

      Secondly, paying off old debts does NOT improve your credit. At all. I can understand if you want to pay because of a moral obligation, but before you pay these people a dime you need to remember that doing so will not fix your credit. Because you are living on exempt funds, YOU are the one that gets to dictate when and how or even if the collector gets paid. They have no leverage whatsoever. Keep in mind, however, that if you own a home or car the judgment holder can file a lien against the title.

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    2. You are amazing Lee. Thank you for taking your time of your day to help.

      Delete
  38. Can a debt collector with a judgement intercept ur student loan refund check?

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  39. Can a debt collector with a judgement intercept my student loan refund check?

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  40. I owe money directly to a trade school. I have been making monthly payments to my Student Loan Company (ECMC), and found out very recently that the school has sent me to collections for money I didn't even realize that I owed. In my paperwork from teh collection agency, it names the trade school directly, and makes no mention of the Department of Educaiton or a student loan company. Would this be counted as a Student Loan? Could the collections ageny take my income tax return on behalf of the trade school?

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  41. Hi Lee. I got a payday loan and I couldn't afford to pay anymore. Will the payday loan garnished or do a bank levy onto my bank account since they got all my information? What should I do?

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  42. I just received a letter from the U.S. Department of Education stating In 30 days they will issue a judgement for a 15% wage garnishment.... I've been recieving letters from them for 2 years and still received my tax refund.... The letters that I recieved been that same.... Until I got this one after a month I decided to open up a bank account.... Which the bank account that I had opened I will be closing it soon..... My question is.... By me setup a bank account.... Did I set myself up for failure in losing my tax return and getting my wage garnished......

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  43. Would the same rules mentioned in the blog post apply if the collection agency is working on behalf of the actual culinary school, not a student loan company or US Department of Education? Would the collection agency be able to take my refund?

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  44. I have government student loans that have gone into collections. I am planing to try to get things in order next year, but it just isn't possible yet. I did not work all year, so I have paid no taxes and do not need to file a return. If my husband and I file together, can they take our return with my name on it? Should he file on his own? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It would probably be best if you applied for an unemployment deferment with your student loan servicer. This will postpone the payments until you are able to get a job.

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  45. Have a question. Can you get a Refund Anticipation Loan if you know the Dept. of Education is going to take your tax refund? In other words can the place where you are getting the loan, say H & R block see that information from the Gov.?

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  46. I have a judgement against me for a car loan, if I have my refund sent to my Net Spend prepaid card can the card loan company take it before it's released to me ? And what is the difference between having my refund direct deposit into an acct and having it deposited onto a prepaid card ? Thanks

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  47. Ive seen that you answered alot of questions concerning judgements and intercepting Tax refunds while deposited to your bank account. My question is the same I have a judgement against myself and WHEN I FILE REGARDLESS BANK ACCT PREPAID VISA ETC. what kind of judgement is in order to take my refund in SD?

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  48. I am pretty sure that I don't have a judgement against me because I haven't been to court and I haven't gotten papers served to me. I do get mail from a collection agency saying that with tax season approaching we would like to offer you the opportunity to avoid further collection attempts. Does that mean they can take my refund after it hits my account?

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  49. I want to file joint with my husband but my husband got in car accident about a year ago without insurance and never paid for it. not that he didnt want to but its been hard time with money situations so anyways wondering can whoever take my taxes or am i better off doing them seperate

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  50. The answer to every question is to pay your bills and stop looking for ways to get around it. Then your refund is yours.

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  51. Bookmarked. Kindly also discuss with my website. collecting my judgement

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  52. I have a debt with army/air force exchange and have been making payments only missed 2 last couple of months andthey took my money but I never got a letter saying they will garnish it. If they already took it can I fight it and get my money? Its 4grand, its not a lot but its mine. If so please let me know how to appeal it.

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  53. If my tax return was offset yesterday and I never got a letter saying by who and how much can I fight it? Will i be able to get all my refund back?

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  54. Hi, I am disabled and make a total of $400/month. My husband has not been able to work since March 2013 due to medical problems. We have 3 minor children in our home. We did our taxes with H&R Block and were having it put on Emerald card. We checked our status on IRS website n said we had an offset and wouldn't be receiving state or federal refund because of my husbands student loans that went to a collection agency. Was wondering if there is any exemptions when we were depending on it for survival, like heat, electric, food and shelter? Lost and Hopeless...

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  55. What are the odds of the government garnishing returns? Is it 100% of the people or is it hit or miss?

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  56. Can they take money off my Rush pre-paid debit card?

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  57. I just got a card from the state and im waiting for my ex's taxes to go on it for back child support to go on the card, now I know her taxes have been intercepted and she recieved the difference of the money..I just ask because I got the card this weekend and am wondering if I should be recieving the money any day now..

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  58. I don't know if you're still getting notifs from this blog post, or not. This was a very helpful blog post and I thank you for writing it, as well as answering so many people's post questions.

    I have been sued once so far. I only worked 5 months then had to leave my job and haven't been able to find work in the 9 months since. So I've had no income coming in and had to close my bank account last year.

    I just filed my taxes through turbotax and the pre-paid debit card they offer, rejected me, and they won't send out checks, so I had to give them my mom's bank account information.

    My question is how much info do the debt collectors have? Can they go to the IRS and see my mom's bank information? Or is the only thing they could do be to locate any bank accounts I have in my name and then freeze/levy them?

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  59. When ur money is froze they have to tell u right then nd there y it is frozen right the froze her prepaid credit card nd she is saying they ain't telling her who is trying to take her mon

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  60. I have a past college debt bill. I dropped my classes, all the financial aid awarded, was returned back to the sender due to dropping the classes. So because the funds were returned, I ended up with a bill. They claiming I owe state debt became the money issued was federal money. I'm confused because if the money for aid was returned, I owe a balance to the school, am I right? Why are they indicating I owe the state of wisconsin for getting federal money?

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  61. Hi Lee,

    I owe Unemployment for over payments. There has been an offset issued. This has been since 2011 which i was unaware due to address change. I went to the post office recently to get all my mail correspondence and I've had many of they're letters. I called to set up payment arrangements but I was doing further investigation and realized it can possibly be taken from my tax refund. I went to H&R block yesterday to file my taxes and everything seems to be going right, claim has been accepted both federal and State. I have a Pre-paid debit card that I will have the money deposit to. I want to know if this can possibly be taken away from me?

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