Once your refund is garnished, it may take months before it arrives at the state or federal organization to which you owe the debt. Only garnishments taken to pay the IRS are posted immediately.

Department of Education (ED) has suspended garnishment on federally held student loans through September 30, 2021, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Interest on these loans is also suspended during this time.

If your refund has already been garnished by an agency other than the Treasury Department, the IRS probably cannot undo the garnishment. Usually, a garnishment can only be stopped before the refund is issued, not after.

Lenders are able to garnish up to 15% of the borrower’s wages in that case without a court order, according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of research for Savingforcollege.com.

BFS will send you a notice if an offset occurs. The notice will reflect the original refund amount, your offset amount, the agency receiving the payment, and the address and telephone number of the agency. BFS will notify the IRS of the amount taken from your refund once your refund date has passed.

Treasury Offset Program Government agencies frequently garnish federal income tax refunds since they are the most common federal payments. The TOP is the only way your refund can be garnished; private creditors such as credit card companies don’t have access to your tax refund.

There are only four types of debt for which the federal government will withhold your tax refund or send it to one of your creditors. These debts include past-due federal taxes, state income taxes, child support payments and amounts you owe to other federal agencies, such as federal student loans you fail to pay.

2. You owe back taxes. If you owe back taxes, the IRS will take all your refunds to pay your tax bill, until it’s paid off. The IRS will take your refund even if you’re in a payment plan (called an installment agreement).

If you have unpaid private debts that are subject to a court order, your $1,400 stimulus check could be garnished. The American Rescue Plan Act did not protect the one-time direct payments for people in those circumstances. Some states have stepped in to enforce their own rules to make it so the money cannot be taken.

Unlike the second stimulus payment, which was protected against garnishment from private debt collectors after the first round of checks lacked protections, the third round of stimulus checks also don’t include garnishment prohibitions.

Economic stimulus payments are generally based on information from 2018 or 2019 tax returns, but non-filers can still get a check. If you’re eligible for a stimulus check (not everyone will get one), the IRS will grab the information it needs to process your payment from your 2018 or 2019 tax return.

Who Qualifies for the Second Stimulus Check?

• Individuals with AGI of $75,000 or less qualify to get the full $600 second stimulus check.
• Married couples filing jointly with AGI of $150,000 or less qualify to get the full $600, and those making more than $150,000 and up to $174,000 receive a reduced amount.

A big reason you won’t qualify for a stimulus payment (or economic-impact payment, as the IRS calls it) is that you make too much money. You won’t get a stimulus check if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is greater than: $80,000, if your filing status was single or married and filing separately.