Can they garnish my tax returns for a vehicle repossession judgement against my spouse if we filed jointly?

posted

No, they should not garnish your IRS tax return for the judgment.

If they do, and you filed a joint return and are not responsible for your spouse’s debt, you are entitled to request your portion of the refund back from the IRS. You may file a claim for this amount by filing Form 8379 (PDF), Injured Spouse Allocation.

The Department of Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) issues IRS tax refunds and Congress authorizes BFS to conduct the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Through the TOP program, BFS may reduce your refund (overpayment) and offset it to pay:

Past-due child support;
Federal agency non-tax debts;
State income tax obligations; or
Certain unemployment compensation debts owed to a state (Generally, these are debts for (1) compensation paid due to fraud, or (2) contributions owing to a state fund that were not paid).