Collections Temporarily Delayed
On January 16, 2026, the Department of Education announced that it was temporarily delaying collection of defaulted student loans, but we don’t know how long that pause will last. If your loans are in default when the delay ends, you could face serious consequences, including losing your tax refunds, a portion of your wages, and even some of your Social Security benefits.
Take steps now to make sure your loans aren’t in default! If you are in default, act quickly to get out of default and avoid collections.
If you are in default on your federal student loans, the government can take some or all of your federal tax refund to pay off your debt. You should get a letter right after your loans first go into default (see our page on these types of notices), but you probably will not get another notice before the government takes your tax refund. If your tax refunds have been taken in the past, you may not get another letter before the government takes your refunds again in the future. The government will continue taking your tax refunds until your debt is fully paid off.
Before you file your tax refunds, you can actually call to see if you are on the list to have your refund taken. If you want to see if you are on the list to have your refund taken, call the Treasury Offset Program at 1-800-304-3107.
Can I stop the government from taking my tax refund?
Potentially! If you get a letter from the federal government letting you know that your loans are in default, don’t ignore it.
There are a few ways you may be able to stop the government from taking your tax refund in the future:
- You may be able to remove your loans from default by consolidating your defaulted loans or entering into a rehabilitation agreement. However, if you are already on the list for your tax refund to be taken, the government may still take your tax refund until your loans are fully removed from default.
- You may also be able to stop collections by applying for a statutory discharge or cancellation program. After you have applied, you should call the Default Resolution Group at 1-800-621-3115 to tell them you’ve submitted an application and you do not want your tax refund to be taken while your application is outstanding. They may tell you to confirm in writing that you have submitted an application, and you should include a copy of your application.
- You may also be able to stop a tax refund offset by writing to the Department to explain why your loans are not in default or should not be subject to collections. You should call the Default Resolution Group at 1-800-621-3115 for more information on how to do this.
The process for challenging tax refund offsets may be changing. There may be changes coming to the way the government collects student loan debts. Because of these changes, the steps you have to take to try to stop the government from taking your tax refunds may change as well. We will update this page as we get more information, but you can check for further updates on studentaid.gov.
Can I stop the government from taking my tax refund because I am experiencing financial hardship?
Generally, no, unless you have exceptional circumstances, like you are facing eviction, foreclosure, or your electricity or water is about to be turned off due to outstanding bills. If you would like to assert a financial hardship, call the Default Resolution Group at 1-800-621-3115.
It is extremely unlikely that the government will return a tax refund after it has been taken to repay a federal student loan in default.
For more information on the collection of federal student loan debt, visit the Federal Student Aid website page on collections.
