I owe money on my income taxes from last year. Can I still get a tax refund this year?

It depends; taxpayers who do not pay their taxes in full before the April 15th deadline for the prior tax year will owe tax, penalties and interest. Unfortunately, any refund available for a subsequent tax year will go toward the tax debt and not to the taxpayer, as the IRS’s primary concern is with recovering the tax owed. Taxpayers who owe back taxes to the IRS can make payments online or mail payments in to the IRS. Having an installment agreement in force prevents the IRS from taking action against you to collect the debt, but it does not prevent the offset of your refund. Any payments you make, whether structured by an installment agreement or mailed in intermittently, are applied to your back taxes until the tax is paid in full. Any refunds for which you are eligible will be applied to your back taxes even if you are making payments. Once the IRS applies your refund to your past due taxes, you will receive a letter (CP 49) in the mail from the IRS advising you that your refund has been applied to taxes you owe. If you feel the offset is in error, you can call the IRS at 800-829-1040.