Will IRS automatically take my federal refund to pay off my payment plan balance? Help!

That makes sense, but it kinda sucks. I was hoping to use that refund for some car repairs. So there's absolutely no way to get the refund sent to me instead? Like could I call them and ask nicely?

Unfortunately, there's no way around this if you're in an active installment agreement. The offset is automatic and mandatory - the IRS is required by law to apply your refund to outstanding tax debt. Even the nicest customer service representative can't override this system. The silver lining is that this will reduce your total debt faster, meaning fewer months of payments. If those car repairs are urgent, you might consider putting the equivalent amount you would have spent from your refund toward that, and then use your regular monthly payment money to cover other expenses temporarily.

Did they help you figure out how to get your refund instead of having it applied to your balance? I'm in a similar situation as OP and really need my refund this year.

How exactly does this work? I'm suspicious of any service claiming to help with IRS stuff. Did you have to pay money upfront before getting any actual help?

They didn't help me bypass the offset - that's just not possible when you're in an active payment plan. What they did was help me understand exactly how much would be applied to my balance and how to adjust my withholdings for the rest of the year to avoid owing more or getting another refund that would just go to my debt. It's pretty straightforward - you upload your documents, and they use AI to analyze everything and give you specific recommendations. They do charge a fee, but only after they've shown you exactly what they can help with. I was skeptical too but was really impressed with how clear they made everything.

How does this actually work? I've been trying to get through to the IRS for days about my payment plan. Do they just put you in some priority queue somehow?

This sounds like complete BS to me. There's no way some random service can get the IRS to call you back faster than anyone else. The IRS doesn't give priority to third parties. This has to be a scam.

It's actually pretty simple - they use an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When an agent finally picks up, Claimyr connects them to your phone. So you're not getting priority treatment exactly - they're just doing the holding for you. It's definitely not a scam. I was super skeptical too, but I was desperate after trying for weeks to get through. The way it works is that you pay them a fee, and they use their system to get in the IRS phone queue. When they reach an agent, you get called and connected directly to that agent. Saved me hours of frustration and I finally got all my payment plan questions answered.

That's interesting! My debt is just mine, but I'm filing single so I guess that doesn't help in my case. But good to know for others. How exactly does that work with the injured spouse thing?

The Injured Spouse Allocation basically separates your tax return into two portions - one belonging to you and one belonging to your spouse. If only one spouse has the debt (like back taxes, child support, etc.), the other spouse can file this form to protect their share of the refund. The IRS uses a formula based on income, withholding, credits, etc. to determine how much of the refund belongs to each spouse. Then only the debtor spouse's portion gets offset while the injured spouse can still receive their share. It's a bit complicated but can be really helpful in joint filing situations where only one person has the debt.

This is actually really smart. Adjust your withholding so you're getting more in each paycheck rather than giving the IRS an interest-free loan that just goes to your debt. Just be careful not to under-withhold too much or you'll end up owing again next year.