Fees and Costs for Child Support Services

Employers may charge a fee to cover their costs to withhold support. This fee is taken from the parent's wages, commission check, or other source of income, but not from the support payment sent to the other parent. By law, the fee must be the actual cost to the employer, but may not be more than $3.00 for each withholding.

Employers may charge more than one fee from the same paycheck if:

• There are withholdings for child support and R&D fees from the same paycheck. This requires two separate mailings.
• There are withholdings for two child support orders from the same paycheck, and one of the orders is for a different state.

Employers may NOT charge more than $3 per paycheck unless your situation is one of the two outlined above.

Employers may NOT charge a fee for sending withheld premiums to an insurance provider.

The R&D fee helps pay the cost of processing payments and maintaining payment records for your child support case(s).

• The $65 fee is charged each year on each court case.
• Paying parents receive a R&D fee notice and payment coupon each January.
• If the fee is not paid in full, the fee may be collected through income withholding.

Ways to pay the R&D Fee

Payment options are:

Online payment:

• If you haven’t used ExpertPay before, create an account on ExpertPay.com. There is no fee to use ExpertPay if you are using a bank account. Fees may apply if using other payment methods. There is a one-time setup fee of $2.50.
• Enter first and last name, SSN, and Child Support PIN (add leading zeros if Child Support PIN is not 10 digits) which can be found on this notice above.
• Select the R&D Payment button.
• Amount will default to $65, but you can change the amount
• Provide payment (Debit Card, Credit Card, PayPal, Venmo, etc.) information through ExpertPay.
• Do not combine R&D payments and support payments.

Check payment:

• Payment by check or money order MUST include the R&D coupon mailed to you. See a sample R&D Fee Notice and Coupon.
• The R&D coupon is also available from your Child Support Online Services account.
• Click here for a quick print R&D payment coupon.
• Use Income Withholding
  • If you do not pay the R&D fee on your own, your employer may withhold the fee from your paycheck.
  • Employers receive notices about R&D fees owed four times a year. A $3 fee may be withheld from your paycheck if an employer withholds for R&D fees.

Most courts charge a $30 filing fee for hearings to review or change an order.

• Some courts do not charge a filing fee.
• The fee is charged to the parent who asks for the review/change.
• No fee is charged if the parent or guardian receives cash benefits from the W-2, SSI Caretaker Supplement, or Kinship Care programs.

Child Support Agencies do not charge a fee for reviewing the order and taking steps to change an order. Find out more about requesting a review through your child support agency.

Some states charge a fee for enforcement activities in their state. If the other state does charge a fee, it takes the fee out of the support collection before sending it to Wisconsin.

• These fees vary depending on the state rules.
• Some states charge fees to the parent who gets support.
• Some states charge fees to the parent who pays support.

There is a fee charged when parents request genetic testing.

• Child Support Agencies offer genetic testing at reduced cost.
• The cost of testing varies. The maximum fee is $60 for each person tested when done at a child support agency. Tests are completed on the man, woman, and child.
• No fee is charged to a man when the test shows he is not the father.

Find out more about genetic testing done at the child support agency.

A Non IV-D case is one that does not receive Case Management Services from a local child support agency, but does receive Financial Management Services. You have a Non IV-D case if a local child support agency has not received a public assistance referral or an application for child support program services; or if a payee not receiving public assistance has formally declined child support program services; or if a case has a court order for spousal support only. County child support agencies may only provide child support enforcement services for cases that are referred to the agency because the family is receiving certain forms of public assistance, or for cases where a parent has filed an application for services. These are referred to as “public cases” (or IV-D cases).

Wis. Stat. s.767.57 requires that each court case is charged a $65 fee each year for receiving and disbursing child support, family support, or spousal support payments. The court requires that a person ordered to make payments must pay the fee in each year for which payments are ordered or in which past-due support is owed. The R&D fee helps pay the cost of processing payments and maintaining payment records.

This means that your unpaid R&D debt balances were reported to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR). The DOR may deduct these balances from any state tax refund, lottery winnings, unclaimed property, or DOA vendor payment before it is issued to you.

Wis. Stat. s. 49.855(1) was amended in 2015 and requires that the Bureau of Child Support certify Non IV-D R&D debts to DOR for state income tax refund intercept.

To be eligible for certification, each of the following must be true:  
 

• You are a court-ordered payer in a child support, family support, or spousal support case
• You have unpaid R&D fee debt on a Non IV-D case
• You have a verified Social Security Number
• You are not a payer in a non-closed IV-D (enforceable) case valid for new enforcement actions.
• Your court case has a total R&D balance greater than $65
• Your court case did not have a payment to the R&D debt in the current year or up to 2 years prior

Starting in November 2018, certain Non IV-D cases will NOT be eligible for certification if they meet certain other criteria; for example, if a payer is deceased or if a case has gone a long period without any financial activity.

Each year in January, you will receive a notice to pay the annual R&D fee. If the fee is not paid, and the payer is employed, your employer will be sent a notice to pay the fee in July; and if a balance remains, again in October. If you have no known employer, notices are sent to you each quarter at your last known address. It is important you keep your address up to date. You can manage your address and view your payments online here.

Each year in late November, 30 days prior to submitting the certification to DOR, you will receive a notice in the mail to inform you that past due R&D debt balances on each eligible, Non IV-D court case will be certified with the DOR for offset of any tax refund due in the upcoming year. The amount shown is the balance that was due on the date that the notice was created. A copy of the notice may be viewed here.

Yes. The child support program’s case management database keeps track of each court case with an eligible Non IV-D R& debt. Local child support agency staff can view this information.

A toll free number (1-877-209-5212) is displayed at the top of the notice that provides additional information about the notice.

The debt balance amount actually certified to DOR will be the current balance as of December 31. If more money is intercepted than is owed, you will be issued a refund of any amount overpaid.

You have the right to contest whether the R&D balances are owed by requesting an administrative review. Download the Request for Review Form. The request must be mailed to the Wisconsin State Bureau of Child Support, P.O. Box 7935, Madison WI, 53707-7935, and should include:  
 

• Your name
• Your Social Security Number
• Case Number
• Current address
• Telephone number

Administrative review requests can be made at any time and do not require the presence of an attorney. The written requests for an Administrative Review will be reviewed by the Bureau of Child Support. Only requests in writing will receive a response.

Each December, the Bureau of Child Support will provide DOR with a list of cases with Non IV-D R&D debts to certify for state tax intercept of any state tax refunds due in the upcoming year.

You will receive a separate tax refund intercept notice from DOR when a tax refund is actually taken to pay your R&D debt balances.  

If you have not kept your address current with the child support program, you may not have received the initial notice of Non IV-D R&D certification sent in November. This may be the first time you become aware that your case was certified for Non IV-D R&D tax intercept.

The child support program will not charge a fee for collections received from DOR and applied to an R&D fee balance.  

DOR will charge its own separate fee of $5 for each income tax refund it intercepts and sends to the child support program. For example, if you are certified to DOR for a Non IV-D R&D debt of $800 and your refund is $700, then DOR will intercept $700, keep $5, and send $695 to the child support program. You will receive credit in our records for a $695 payment. The $5 DOR fee is non-refundable.

Yes. The child support program’s case management database keeps track of each court case with an eligible Non IV-D R&D debt. Local child support agency staff can view collections that were applied to this debt.