Wish had had a buck for every time I was asked this question.
You may want to think about settling with the IRS through a Offer in Compromise.
 
Question:
Can I receive a tax refund if I am currently making payments under an installment agreement or payment plan for a prior year’s federal taxes?
Answer:
No.!!!
The IRS will automatically apply the refund to the taxes owed.They put a refund freeze on your SSN.
If you were on a Installment Agreement or placed into a hardship or currently non collectable, as a condition of your installment agreement or hardship any refund due to you in a future year will be applied against the amount that you owe.
The IRS will automatically apply the refund to the taxes owed.
You must continue making your installment agreement payments as scheduled and in full because your refund is not applied toward your regular monthly payment; therefore any payments due under the installment agreement must still be made in full.
Regardless of whether you are participating in an installment agreement or other payment arrangement with the IRS, you may not get all of your refund if you owe certain past-due amounts, such as federal tax, state tax, a student loan, or child support.
For more information on these non-IRS refund offsets, you can contact Financial Management Service .

NO TAX Refund if you owe BACK TAXES