Kissed my income tax return goodbye...car is next

[Ravin]

My last month in the Navy, I was overpaid. That was back in 2001. Not being in a position to pay the money back, I knew that one day they'd come after me for it. A few years ago a federal agency got to our income tax return before DH's back child support did, and I thought that was it and it was taken care of.

 

No, turns out it was the VA going after DH for the last month of his GI bill because he didn't quite finish the school he was in on account of getting sick and not being able to afford the make-up classes that they wanted an extra five grand for (this was culinary school).

 

DFAS apparently put in the offset on my income tax return in 2004. Because of our precarious position, last year I filed an innocent spouse claim (to keep my share of our return from getting claimed for DH's child support), and recieved the return.

 

This year, when I'm making more money than DH, and we desperately needed the $900 of my return for a car because ours is on its last legs (even if it lasts out the summer, there's no way it'll pass emissions, etc. come October when the tags expire), what happens?

 

DFAS finally gets their money. Part of it, at least. Really, couldn't the IRS have waited one more lousy year?

 

Needless to say, I'm going to be adjusting my withholdings to try and make sure we get a very small return next year...

 

And we're not sure at all what we're going to do about a car. It's a real hardship to be without one in this climate, especially with another baby on the way. :confused:

[Jean in Newcastle]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[Ravin]

Thanks, Jean.

 

To top it all off, today we heard back on our public assistance applications today. We qualified for food stamps...for an allotment of $0. :confused: Somehow the way they divide up income, I qualified for medicaid, DH (who needs it the most right now because his probation officer wants him to get a psych eval and we don't have the money to pay cash for it--not to mention that there's something wrong with his knee, his allergies are very poorly controlled with otc meds, we're pretty sure his sleeping disorder is back, etc.) didn't, and DD is on a waitlist for KidsCare (CHIP), which has capped enrollment due to limited funding.

 

So, we carry on with no health insurance for anyone in the house but me. I have a high-deductible plan through work, with an MSA, but the MSA stays pretty close to empty. I can use the MSA money for DD or DH, and I was hoping to get DD to the dentist soon, but I think it's going to have to wait until she starts getting some adult teeth, or DH gets fired (which could happen any day because the people he works for recently found out he turned them in to ICE for hiring illegal immigrants; the only reason he still had a job when he went to work this morning was that they didn't have anyone to replace him).

[Jean in Newcastle]

It sounds like one of those "when it rains, it pours" moments. More :grouphug:

[jenL]

I'm sorry... hang in there... everything is always temporary even though when you are in it, it feels like it will last forever. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[bagel270]

Can you find a dentistry school near you? One near us charges $10 a person because they need people to practice on.

[Ravin]

DD is really young and nervous about the dentist as it is. I think I'll wait until we can spring for a visit at the pediatric dentist.

 

The irony with DH's job situation is, if he was fired, he could collect unemployment that would be more than he's presently making, and have his time free to find a better job.

[laurad1125]

I'm so sorry for all you're going through!!:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[TXMomof4]

I feel your pain with DFAS. DH had accrued extra leave and took it last year when he got home from Iraq rather than going back to his civilian job while we waited for his transfer to active duty to come through. Now we're getting monthly letters saying we owe them for a month of leave dh didn't earn. Luckily, DH has every bit of paper to prove he's right, but that doesn't seem to stop dfas from trying.

[Renee in NC]

We had a problem with the military and tax refunds, too. When dh got out, everyone signed off that he owed no money. Three years later, our refund was docked for money that we didn't owe AAFES (but they said we did.)

[Jen in PA]

:grouphug: I am so sorry you have to go through all of this.

[QueenCat]

Ravin,

Will the IRS and the other entities not work out a payment plan for the money owed by either you or your husband? At some point obligations need to be paid but I would think it would be easier if you approached them to work something out rather than waiting on them, and increasing the chances of penalties.

[Donna A.]

Ravin,

Will the IRS and the other entities not work out a payment plan for the money owed by either you or your husband? At some point obligations need to be paid but I would think it would be easier if you approached them to work something out rather than waiting on them, and increasing the chances of penalties.

 

Agreeing with this. We've been paying on a DFAS obligation that wasn't our fault.... like you, they overpaid dh for TWO MONTHS after he got off active duty last year. He'd contacted them 3 or 4 times, but they kept paying until we ended up owing them over $6000. The paycheck finally stopped, and we knew they'd come after us at some point and were prepared (mentally) for that. But when the bill came SEVEN MONTHS AFTER they stopped paying him, well, who's got $6200 just lying around? Especially at Christmastime? We had a choice to pay it all up front, or make monthly pymts + 3% accrued interest. THEIR mistake, but WE have to pay interest. Figure that one out. :confused:

 

I don't mind the part about having to pay it back. It just makes me mad that we have to pay interest on something that wasn't our fault to begin with! :angry: Thus, when we recently sold our van, we used that money to pay off the DFAS debt before anything else.

 

With the GI Bill... dh has been overpaid on that a few times over the years, too, for similar reasons (having to cancel a class or whatever). But they always take those amounts back when dh re-enrolls the next time by simply withholding what we would have been paid if we hadn't been overpaid. However, the one time that dh didn't re-enroll right away so the debt was still hanging out there, the VA set us up for monthly pymts until it was paid in full. (No interest charged on that. ;) )

 

I hate DFAS. Always have. They seem to have their own little world of control going on over there, and seem to make their own rules. The VA has always dealt rightly, though.

 

But we've NEVER had tax refund money taken. Ever.

[Donna A.]

Oh, and always remember that government debt WILL be paid back -- one way or the other. Whether it's military pay, GI Bill, school loans, taxes owed, doesn't matter.... If you owe them money, you'd best be proactive and find a way to get it paid back in a way that works for YOU; otherwise, they'll get it somehow. And it may not be a way that works for you.