Usually, the state where the custodial parent lives—the parent who is owed child support—submits the debt for the Federal Tax Refund Offset. If multiple states are involved, then each state must submit for the offset.

When to report child support to the IRS?

That way, if your child’s other parent falls behind on payments, the child support enforcement office will automatically report it to the Treasury Office to begin the process of intercepting tax refunds.

What happens to the money after child support is paid?

After your child support debt’s paid, we’ll refund any money left over to you. We can collect any outstanding child support from either: a payment you get from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. If you pay or get child support you must either lodge a:

What to do if you receive a tax refund in error?

If you believe that your case should be eligible for the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program, or you suspect that the other parent has received their tax refund in error, contact your local Office of Child Support Enforcement.

What kind of debt do I have to pay back for child support?

These include past-due court-ordered child support payments, outstanding debts with federal agencies other than the Internal Revenue Service, past-due state income taxes and any unemployment compensation you must pay back. Before any other federal or state agency can garnish your tax refund, you must be current on your federal income tax payments.

Can a child support case be sent to the IRS?

If you have more than one child support case with unpaid balances, or have other federal debts that are sent to the IRS for collection, your refund is first allocated to the debts in the order they are sent in by agencies. If any of your refund remains after the debts are paid, the IRS will send you the difference.

When does the federal government take child support?

The federal government will take it first. As far as the state goes, it depends on if your state has been notified that you owe it. If you still live and file in the state where you owe the child support, most likely they will intercept the state return.