Ability to Offset Past-Due Child Support against Tax Refunds
Posted on Jan 31, 2014 7:44pm PST
Where an arrearage of child support has been determined, a child support
enforcement agency may intercept the tax refund of the delinquent parent.
Tax Intercept Program
Both federal and state tax refunds for taxpayers who owe back child support
payments may be intercepted by state child support enforcement agencies
and used to pay toward or pay off the arrearage. The notice to the Secretary
of the Treasury for the intercept shall include information identifying
the taxpayer and the amount of the arrearage. When a request is made to
the Secretary of the Treasury to intercept a tax refund, the state agency
is required to notify the taxpayer of the request for an intercept and
provide information on how the taxpayer can protest the intercept. Withholding
is to be used only when it appears that, based on the pattern of child
support payments, the taxpayer will owe an arrearage of $500 or more at
the time the tax refund will be intercepted. The fee which the Secretary
of the Treasury may impose to cover the costs of the withholding and notification
may not exceed $ 25 per case submitted.
Protest of a Tax Intercept
A taxpayer can protest the intercept of a federal tax refund in respect
to whether he is the person who is responsible for paying child support,
whether there is an arrearage, and the amount of any arrearage. If the
taxpayer filed a joint tax return with his or her current spouse, the
spouse is entitled to receive her share of the tax refund. A protest should
initially be considered by the state child support enforcement agency.
If the taxpayer disputes its findings, the court in the state in which
the state agency is located is the court with jurisdiction to consider
the matter.
Application for a Tax Intercept
Only the state agency responsible for enforcing child support has authority
to initiate a tax refund intercept. The recipient of child support may
not request an intercept directly from the Secretary of the Treasury.
If the recipient wants to intercept a tax refund, the recipient is required
to first register for services with the state child support enforcement agency.