Student Loan Offset Showing on Transcript - Are They Taking My Refund in 2025?

Hey there! I'm seeing a lot of confusion about student loan offsets lately. The Department of Education is actively offsetting refunds again for defaulted loans in 2025. If you see a TC 898 on your transcript with 'TAS OFFSET' that means they're planning to take your refund to pay your defaulted student loans. BUT you might still have options! First, check if you qualify for Fresh Start to get out of default. Second, use taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to analyze your transcript and see exactly what's happening - it'll tell you if the offset is confirmed and how much they're planning to take. I've seen it help a ton of people understand their situation better and figure out next steps.

Tax pro here - Currently student loan offsets are indeed paused through September 2025. Even if you see it on your transcript, they cannot take your refund for federal student loans during this period. Keep documentation of any calls/confirmations you receive just in case.

Hey everyone! Instead of stressing about offset codes, you should try taxr.ai - it analyzes your entire transcript and tells you exactly what's happening with your refund, including offset status. It's only $4.99 and totally worth it. Check it out at https://taxr.ai

stuck in the same boat rn. offset showing but nobody at the irs gives me a straight answer smh

The whole system is a joke tbh. They can pause taking our money but cant fix the student loan crisis? Make it make sense 🤡

My cousin works at dept of education, she confirmed offsets are paused. ur good fam

not me checking my transcript 5 times a day bc of this 😩

I'm in the exact same situation! Just saw the offset code on my transcript and panicked. But after reading everyone's responses here, I feel way better knowing the pause is still in effect. Has anyone actually gotten their refund yet even with the offset showing? I filed early and still waiting on mine. Also might check out that taxr.ai thing people are mentioning - sounds like it could give me some peace of mind about what's actually happening with my return.

This is such a relief to read! I've been in the same exact boat - saw that offset code on my transcript and immediately thought my refund was gone. I called the treasury offset number too and got the same info about the pause, but honestly wasn't sure if I could trust it. Reading all these confirmations from you all (especially the tax pro!) makes me feel so much better. Going to save that documentation like someone mentioned just in case. Thanks for posting this question - you probably helped a lot of us who were stressing about the same thing! 🙏