Case management services

Monitoring & enforcing child support orders

Intercepting state tax refunds

State tax refunds are intercepted if all four conditions below are met:

  1. The past-due support/debt on a court case is $150 or more.
  2. The child support agency knows the SSN or TIN of the parent who owes past-due support.
  3. The case receives case management services from a local child support agency.
  4. The case is a Wisconsin child support case. (If the payer files a state return in another state, Wisconsin might work with that state to intercept that state’s refund.)

If the four conditions above are met, the paying parent is "certified" for state tax intercept. When certified for state tax intercept, the parent's lottery winnings may also be taken to pay past-due support. Any payments to the parent for providing goods and services to the the state of Wisconsin may also be taken and used to pay past-due support.

Who gets the state tax return?

The State Tax Intercept collection first pays current support on all the paying parent’s cases certified for tax intercept. Any remaining refund money will go to past-due support on cases certified for tax intercept. If a family gets cash benefits, the family will get part of the current support paid from the intercepted state refund.

After current support, past-due support, and debts are paid off, any remaining refund is sent to the paying parent.

Example 1

After paying the current support owed for the month, $100 is left of the state tax intercept. The parent owes $500 in past-due support to Family A & owes $750 in past-due support to Family B.

  • The debt to Family A is 40% of the past-due support. Family A would receive $40 of the remaining $100.
  • The debt to Family B is 60% of the past-due support. Family B would receive $60.

Example 2

After paying the current support still owed for the month and any past-due support, $100 is left of the state tax intercept. The $100 is sent to the paying parent.

Timing & Holds

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) takes the support out of the paying parent’s state tax refund. DOR then sends a letter to the paying parent stating how much of the refund they intercepted, and where the money was sent. The Trust Fund usually gets the state intercept 10 days after the paying parent receives the letter. The Trust Fund immediately sends the money to the parent receiving support (to the parent's debit card or direct deposit account).

Holds

There are no holds for state tax refund intercepts.

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Updated July 31, 2009

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