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I'm sorry for leaving abruptly but I had just found out that mine and my husbands income tax return of $8083 was taken by a company called West Asset Management which collect my husbands student loan payments. According to them the $200 a month that my husband is paying isn't enough because it doesn't cover the interest. Meanwhile, all my utilities are due and are about to be cut. My car has no insurance and I'm pretty sure my license will be suspended soon because of that. Also with no return means no Internet. So I'm even more stressed. I dont know what to do.

So there's the escalation - when you have a tax refund, they take it, with no warning whatsoever that there was any problem.

This is my second student loan mess I have personally seen happen to "kids".

Hold on tight!

Prostitution is big business on college campuses these days.

Well, not to mention how many kids are THAT BADLY over withheld???? WTf is going on here? she's got $650+/month that should have been in her pocket in 2011.

I am waiting to see who does her taxes, becuase I can't believe someone does their tax returns and doesn't adjust their withholding? It's like the biggest scam ever, because now, apparently this is how they are going to recoup the student loan problem? (these people were not behind - there was no problem till the tax refund showed up, and was robbed at the 11th hour).

The "treasury offset program" strikes again.
With the age of computers, the federal and state governments are cross referencing every database they have; if you owe them money, forget your refund.

Welcome to the student loan world.

More, many more, episodes coming.

People will learn.... they will start paying actual attention to the withholdings and put 10 dependents down for next year.

Sreavis, great minds and all that. I was about to suggest something extremely similar. Mrs Frat wants her "free check" every March/April. I can't get her to understand we just GAVE fed.gov a 0% loan for the year. Sigh.

People would rather get that fat check than get a small bump per paycheck because most people lack the self discipline to save that extra money. It's easier to blow a big fat check than to save the extra each paycheck to puts towards something you want to buy.

That and most of these people love the government so they think they're helping by giving that 0% loan.

I don't see this attitude changing anytime soon.

They are not "overwithheld." They are receiving payouts based upon EIC, etc. They probably are making something in the $20k+ range and get a phree tax gift of another $8k that is completely unrelated to their "witholding."

I'm with Widgeon on that one...

So the government pays their student loans indirectly, by re-directing EIC (just money taken from other taxpayers and borrowed from our future) they would have received [and immediatly spent, circulating money faster] to the company that bought their loan for a percentage on the dollar.

Nice!

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People would rather get that fat check than get a small bump per paycheck because most people lack the self discipline to save that extra money.

This^^^^^

Without getting into a discussion on EIC, EIC or not these people are overwithholding. EIC caps out at $5,751 assuming the max credit which still means these people were withholding almost $200/mo extra. Claim 99 dependents, withhold nothing and let EIC pay your taxes... You'll likely still get money back...

I'm just wondering where the Student Joe Stacks are. You hear about kids going to college, getting themselves into debt upto their eyeballs and offing themselves. I wonder if and when they're going to go on the offensive.

We need to change the BK laws back to allow the elimination of ALL DEBT...

After all, it's for the children...

Yes, didn't think about EIC... it is a good bump. Sweet spot for that is 20-26k income with 2 chilluns... That is the .gov taking money and shuffling it, lol

My buddy was current on his loans and they took his state tax refund out of the blue.

Anecdotal, talked to executive @ work, always wondered why he seems to live like a pauper... Found out he has 100k in student loan debt, met his wife at the same college (she doesn't work now). That is quite the burden.....

You have to be particularly-crazy to marry someone who has a ****load of student loan debt, especially if you do it while they're still accumulating it, as in the latter case it will attach to you as well.

Divorce is nasty enough if kids are involved, but that comes later and is a result of choice -- you go into this with a $100k+ liability coming into the game and you're simply insane -- no matter if you're a woman or man who is "taking it on."

I don't care how good the sex is, it's massively overpriced. Period.

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I don't care how good the sex is, it's massively overpriced. Period.

I guess I'm getting old.

These days, if I was offered the choice between good sex, and a good steak dinner, my first thought is: "What kind of steak?"

my thought would be "what kind of sex?"

I don't eat steak, often...

>You have to be particularly-crazy to marry someone who has a ****load of student loan debt

Agreed, but I'd expand that to "any debt". Yeah it's worse when it's not dischargeable in bankruptcy but who wants to even go down the BK road in the first place?

When DH and I got engaged I insisted on knowing what his debts were like before setting a date. I didn't marry him until he got his messed-up finances straightened out and kept them that way. We had a long engagement LOL...
but he's learned and we're both debt free now (married 20 years).

Maybe I should clarify here, there was not massive student loans. The monthly payment was approx $200/month. They were struggling but current. This came out of nowhere, only to be told if they had been paying $265/mo, they would have been fine. How did this company underbill them for how long (they are a young couple) and suddenly seize their entire refund, which I highly doubt is entirely EIC?

Are the chain tax preparer's contributing deliberately to this, or just to impress their uneducated clients at year end to get them a fat check and make themselves look good. Either way - disgusted!

They are changing their withholding immediately, they need this cash in their pockets now, but how many young people are going to have their loans to the gov't stolen out from under them this year? I see some another round of evictions in my County between now and April. Many are given concessions to catch up when their refund arrives.....refunds that probably won't come this year.

Love the PM from the "accountant" on this site that explained my ignorance to me, but hasn't posted publicly. :P

If you expect your client to recieve a refund of this size and do not adjust their withholding to prevent it, you are not a good accountant IMHO - bleh!