A negative on the transcript means that a refund is due on the return, it does not indicate when a refund is on its way or when it will be received. This doesn't indicate or answer the question whether it will be used to pay off a past due debt.
If you are concerned about whether your refund will be used for any past due debt you can call the Bureau
of the Fiscal Service (BFS).
Contact
the BFS's Treasury Offset Program (TOP) call center at 800-304-3107 or TDD 866-297-0517, Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m.
to 5 p.m. CST. Contact the IRS only if your original refund amount shown on the
BFS offset notice differs from the refund amount shown on your tax return.
