You can file an "injured spouse" form. That will protect your share of the refund from seizure.
See
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8379
Even better you can file a form 8379 for last year and hopefully get some of that refund back.
You can indeed file separately. Generally that results in more tax owed, but not always. It certainly stops your refund from being taken for your husbands debt. I always recommend doing three draft returns to see which is better overall for the family. (two separate, one joint). That is a pain to do but it is often the only way to know which is best.
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