CHILD SUPPORT AND THE TAX INTERCEPT PROGRAM

Each year in the spring, the Douglas County Child Support Agency utilizes one of its most effective tools for child support collection, the Tax Intercept Program.

The Program allows Douglas County to intercept a payor’s federal and/or state tax refund, and apply that refund to past-due child support or birth expenses.

Douglas County will initiate an intercept when it has an open file for collection, and when the payor owes at least $500 in past-due support in general, or at least $150 past-due support to the state. This means that an intercept may occur even when the payor is making payments on past-due support, as long as that past-due amount owed is in excess of $500 in general, or $150 to the state. Further, an intercept may be initiated even when the payor resides with the custodial parent and no child support is being paid, if the state paid for the birth expenses.

Ordinarily, the support collected will be first applied to pay current support, then applied to past-due support to the custodial parent, and then, if applicable, will be applied to past-due support owed to the state. Federal monies intercepted however, may be applied to certain state obligations first.

In order to initiate an intercept, Douglas County will notify both the Internal Revenue Service and the state department of revenue in which the payor resides (such as the Wisconsin Department of Revenue) as to the details of the tax intercept. It will then notify the payor that it has reported the past-due support to the revenue agency. The revenue agency will then withhold the amount of past-due support from the payor’s income tax refund, and will either forward that amount to the appropriate agency, or in the case of money withheld on a joint filing, hold the funds for 6 months before forwarding. Usually the custodial parent will receive the payment from the intercept about 3 weeks after the payor receives notice of the intercept in the case of a single return, and about 7 months after such notice in a joint return.

There is a small fee for the custodial parent for the Tax Intercept Program of either 10% of the monies collected, or $25.00, whichever is lesser.

The custodial parent has no say in whether or not Douglas County initiates an intercept.

Persons with questions about the Tax Intercept Program can call the Douglas County Child Support Agency, the KIDS Information Line at (800) 991-5530, or can receive information online at www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs.