Case management services
Monitoring & enforcing child support orders
Paying parent question's about intercepting tax refunds
How will I know if my tax refunds have been intercepted?
The U.S. Treasury and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue will mail you a notice when they intercept
your refund. The notice will tell you the amount they intercepted and where they
sent the money. You can call the IRS at 1-800-304-3107 to get more
information about your intercepted federal tax refund.
Will my tax refunds be taken to pay birth costs even if I live with the
mother and our child?
Yes, if:
- the Medicaid or Badger Care Plus program paid for your child’s birth costs, and
- the court orders you to pay these costs, and
- your case meets the requirements listed on the "Federal Tax Refunds" and "State Tax Refunds" pages.
What happens if I paid all the past-due support before my tax refund was
intercepted?
The IRS and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue only intercept the reported amount owed at the time
they process your tax return. If your intercepted refund is more than the
support amount owed when the Trust Fund gets your intercepted refund, the Trust
Fund will immediately send the rest of the refund to you.
If I am paying on my past-due support (or birth costs), will my tax
refunds still be intercepted?
Yes, if your case meets the requirements listed on the
"Federal Tax Refunds" and "State Tax Refunds"
pages.
I plan to file a joint return with my new spouse. Will the IRS take my new
spouse's tax refund, too?
No, not if you file an "Injured Spouse Claim" (IRS form 8379) with your
federal joint return. The Injured Spouse Claim will allow your spouse to receive
his or her share of the refund. If you have questions about the Injured Spouse Claim,
or if your spouse's portion of a refund was intercepted after you filed an
Injured Spouse Claim, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
Click here to download
the Injured Spouse form from the IRS web.
You do not need to file an Injured Spouse Claim with your joint Wisconsin state tax return. The state Department of Revenue calculates your share of a joint refund and only intercepts your share. The Department of Revenue will send your spouse's share of the refund to your spouse.
I owe $500 in past-due support. Why did they take $500 from both my
federal and my state refund?
Child support sends the names of parents who owe past-due support to both
the IRS and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. If the IRS and state Department
of Revenue process your returns at
the same time, both agencies might intercept your refunds. If just one of your
refunds pays the entire amount owed, your other refund is immediately returned
to you. On the other hand, if the first refund did not pay the entire debt, the
rest of your debt will be taken from your second refund. When you pay your
support in full, the remaining refund is sent to you immediately.
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