Surprised IRS doesn’t go after tax refunds prior to retirement. Assume there would be a better chance of collection. Would also be less burdensome than in retirement years.
Also think that if someone has to go to the extreme of bankruptcy... then let the debt be addressed there like any other unsecured debt.
Raytheon developed the software used for federal debt collections in several categories.
If you are behind on court ordered child support, federally backed student loans or taxes, it looks for local, state and federal income tax refunds. When those show up, it redirects the funds to the outstanding debt(s) in order of priority.
That way, when someone moves to another state, the tax refund in the new state is intercepted and redirected by the feds to pay the child support order in the other state. Likewise, tax refunds for those who move get applied to the outstanding federal debt.
Only if there ARE tax refunds. I don't know about you, but I adjust my withholding so that I end the year owing a few bucks (but not enough to trigger penalties/interest).