Husband owes student loans

[Brandi0226]

My husband owes student loans and each year the taxes have been taken despite trying to set up a payment plan with a debt collector who won’t take him out of default after having set him up in some program three different times, they keep stop taking payments and making him default again. This year I started working after being a stay at home mom for almost two years, if I file separately and claim our son will my taxes be taken as well? Is that our best option? 

[DoninGA]

No, your best option is to file as Married Filing Jointly and include with your joint tax return a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation so your portion of the tax refund cannot be seized for your spouse's debt.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for a Form 8379 - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/accessing/help/how-do-i-file-form-8379-injured-spouse-allocation/0...

[Brandi0226]

Thank you! 
Do you know if the portion they give us for our son will be included in the portion we get to keep or would that go towards the student loans?

[DoninGA]

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@Brandi0226 wrote:

Thank you! 
Do you know if the portion they give us for our son will be included in the portion we get to keep or would that go towards the student loans?

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Any tax credits that you are eligible for will be included in the tax refund.  If your spouse has no income, then the entire refund would be paid.  Otherwise it is proportioned.  

If you were considering filing as Married Filing Separately, you may lose some credits and other credits would be cut in half.  

See this TurboTax support FAQ for filing jointly versus separately - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/married/help/is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-...