reposession and taxes

by Beverly
(Arkansas)

My husband went through a pretty rough divorce a few years back and he left everything to his ex wife. Including a car that was in his name. She didn't make the payments and the car was repossessed. Now they are after him for the amount owed on the car and a little more. My question is, can they take what they are saying he owes them out of his federal income taxes?

Comments for reposession and taxes

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Dec 23, 2011
 reposession and taxes
by: Debtcollectionanswers

No, they cannot take the money your husband owes as a result of the repossession out of his federal tax refund. However, your husband is at risk for being sued for the money and if the lawsuit ends with a judgment against him, his wages could be garnished, money could be taken out of his individual or your joint bank account, a lien could be put on one of his assets or one of his nonexempt assets (An asset that is not protected from seizure by collectors.) could even be seized in order to collect on the judgment.

Rather than worrying about a possible lawsuit, your husband may want to contact the lender (or collector if the debt is in collections) to see if it would let him pay what he owes in installments, assuming your husband does not have the money to pay his debt in a lump sum. It's also possible that the lender (or collector) may be willing to let him settle the debt -- pay it in full for less than the full amount. Although settlement is most often done with past due credit card debt, it's possible to settle other kinds of unsecured debts, so that might be worth a try. However, settlement is usually not an option unless a debt is very past due and while your spouse is trying to negotiate a settlement with the lender (or debt collector), he runs the risk that he will be sued for the money. You can learn more about settlement by listening to my debt settlement podcast.
Jan 12, 2012
 repossesion and tax refund
by: Anonymous

We were told that they could and would take our federal tax refund for a repossesed car. Is this true in north carolina.

The company is not entitled to take your federal tax refund, not in North Carolina or anywhere else. The only time that refund can be taken is if you owe past due child support, past due federal taxes, a past due federal student loan or if you owe money to some other federal agency.

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