Only child support cases receiving services through a State/Tribal Child Support Agency are eligible for Federal Tax Refund Offset. There are minimum requirements for a child support case to be referred for federal tax offset.

Referrals for Tax Refund Offsets can be made by State/Tribal Child Support agencies to recover TANF or Title IV-E Foster Care monies expended for past due child support balances. (See your TANF/Title IV-E Foster Care program to know if they recover funds expended)

CNOCSS will submit a Tax Offset referral for any past due balances of $1000 owed to custodial parties. These balances could be from a single case or added together from multiple cases. The balances will remain referred for tax offset until past due balances fall below $0.

Every month all eligible cases are sent to the IRS. If a case is referred to the IRS for offset, a Pre-Offset Notice will be mailed to the taxpayer. A tax refund can be offset for past-due child support even if the Pre-Offset Notice was not sent to a current address.  You can also contact your case worker to discuss your referral status.

Please understand that child support staff are limited by Federal law and cannot discuss the specific details of the other parent’s tax filing status.

The IRS has very specific guidelines that require State child support agencies to safeguard federal tax information (FTI).

Federal and State tax refunds will be intercepted to pay past due child support balances. Intercepted monies will be applied to balances owed to the tribe or state prior to paying any past due balances owed to the custodial parties.

It is possible that multiple tax intercepts could happen.

Yes, you should continue to make your monthly current child support payments. Tax Offsets are used to pay past due balances and not current monthly obligations.

Federal law determines how any money that is offset from a tax refund will be applied to child support balances.  The tax refund offset will be applied to all State/Tribal owed balances if the children have received cash assistance in the past and a debt is still owed. Any remaining funds will be applied to the custodial parties’ past-due child support balances including interest. Once all balances are paid in full, the remaining offset funds will be refunded to the party whose taxes were intercepted. 

After the money is released to CNOCSS, the past due balances are verified and any money not owed will be refunded to the party whose taxes were intercepted. 

The offset funds are initially held up to 180 days (six months). The reason CSS holds these funds is that all offsets are subject to future adjustments by the IRS. Additional hold times could be required.

If your tax refund is offset, mails you an Offset Notice to inform that all or part of the tax refund will be applied to a past-due child support debt.  The Offset Notice advises you to contact CSS to correct any errors or to answer questions about the offset.

Both the Pre-Offset Notice and the Offset Notice provide contact information for the CNOCSS office that maintains the child support case.  The Pre-Offset Notice is the first opportunity to dispute a tax refund offset.  If you receive a Pre-Offset Notice, contact CNOCSS to assist with verifying the referral for federal tax offset is correct.  Remember however, the referral is mandatory under Federal law if you owe the minimum amount of arrears.

If a tax refund has been offset, an Offset Notice from FMS/US Treasury is sent to the taxpayer.  There are three reasons to dispute a tax offset:

1. If you are not the person listed on the Notice
2. If the Notice contains an incorrect social security number
3. If you don’t believe you owe past-due child support

If one of the above reasons applies to you, you must request a review of the offset. The review must be in writing and sent within 30 days from the date of the Offset Notice. The CNCOSS office that works the child support case will review your request and notify you of their decision. If the criteria are met, a meeting / hearing will be scheduled for you.