I would file an extension and wait to file your taxes until your refund-intercept has been lifted by the Treasury.
When reading the fine print in my rehab agreement, I saw that there was a clause stating that any payments via garnishment or tax-intercept would not count, since the deal was that it had to be 9 voluntary on-time payments.
So, if you pay it off via intercept, you might technically breach your rehab agreement and not get the full benefits (including deletion of the default notation from your CR).
That said, might be worth emailing your current rehab loan servicer and asking if that clause is in your agreement (I'd go with email so it's all in writing if any issues arise).
Starting score 3/30/13: 570s across the boardMy pleasure! As a favor to all us rebuilders, would you mind posting an update once you've been in touch with your servicer and decide what to do? Always helpful to leave a road-map for those who come later.
You can check your offest status with the Treasury Offset Program via telephone automated service. https://www.fms.treas.gov/debt/top.html. I was headed into my last couple of rehab payments last spring and desperately needed to file because my daughter's financial aid renewal had to be done. I never made it onto the offset list and verified that with them so I was able to file a tax return. My rehab servicer did tell me if I was on the offset list to file an extension and wait to file until I was out of rehab and off the list.
Current Score: TU: 674 | EQ: 722 | EX: 717 | Last Inq. 2/16/15...Locked Up in The Garden