My friend always gets her tax refund confiscated by the Feds because of her past due college Federal Student Loans. She married last year, and is wondering if she files jointly this year with her hubby, whether the Feds will now seize the tax refund due to her husband, who has a clean slate? In other words, is her hubby responsible for her past due federal debts which occurred several years ago before they were married??

The definitive answer:Probably, there are legal arguments on both sides, but it's likely if there is a refund associated with her SS #, that it too will be confiscated.

They would probably both do well to:

1. Make arrangements to pay the loan (of course)

2. Adjust their witholding so that they don't get a refund - or at least a very small one.

There is such a thing as claiming Innocent Spouse, this can be answered by contacting the IRS, at their 1 800 no: and asking for the appropriate forms, and correct filing method to do this. For further info go to:www.irs.gov

Just for everyones info, the hompage of this link has a link called "Where's my refund?' that is helpful for anyone who is wondering where their refund is.

Could also file married but seperately. That way any refund her husband gets will not be affected.

Your posts have been very helpful, thank you all!

When you go to have your taxes done, just have them work them every way. When my husband and I had our done we looked at filing them jointly, married-but-separate, as well as itemizing or not. He has always gotten a tax refund but I never knew there was such a thing because I always had this stock income that I never saw (but it made it look like I "made" a lot of money, so I always had to pay). It turned out that it saved us a bundle to file jointly, because what he would have gotten as a return paid down the taxes I owe. Of course, now he argues that I owe him $300...
So check out all of the options. Her best bet is probably to work on paying down that loan. If she files jointly with her husband, it's kind of like they are one person, so he is responsible for whatever she was responsible for, and vice versa. Until she pays off her loan, they might want to consider filing separately.
But again, I am no expert. H&R Block and others could help her figure out her options.

Wish I had seen this sooner, this question comes up often in my office.

If you file "married seperate", only the indebted spouse will be levied, but you'll likely loose a lot of money with all the disadvantages of that filing status. (You should do it both ways to compare refund amounts.)

If you file "married joint", the IRS has the option of taking every last penny. (Seen it happen!)

If you file "married joint" with the "injured spouse" option (not "innocent spouse"), your return will probably depend on whether your state is a community property state. Mine is, and so I can only tell you what happens here. Your refund will probably be divided right down the middle. The "injured spouse" will get half and the indebted spouse will be levied for half. (Chances are that your half will be comparable to your refund if you file "married seperate".)

The IRS has the authority to collect for any federal debt. In fact, this authority is part of their charter. They ARE the collection arm of the US Treasury, according to US law title 5. The best way to avoid this type of levy is to change your W-4 so that less taxes are taken out of your paycheck. The less you have withheld, the less they have access to. (Just keep in mind that if you end up owing by April 15, there is a small possibility of paying a tax penalty.)