Payment-Processing Time Frames

How long does it take to get an income withholding payment?

Allow 30 days for support payments to start coming from employers. Here’s how it works:

• In Wisconsin, income must be withheld to pay court-ordered child support unless the court orderA legal document, issued by the court, setting the amount to be paid for the support of a child, or establishing the legal fatherhood (paternity) of a child. states otherwise. Payers must report any change in employment to the local child support agency or to the Wisconsin Support Collection Trust Fund (WI SCTF) within 10 days of the change.

• The child support agency sends a notice to the employer to withhold the support. This notice is usually mailed within 2 business days of a new court order or the reported change in employment.

• The notice tells employers that they must start withholdingThe payer's employer sends a portion of his/her paycheck in to pay the employee's child support debt. support in the first pay period after they receive the withholding notice. Most employers have two-week payroll cycles.

• After withholding the money from the paycheck, the employer must send the payment to the Wisconsin Support Collection Trust Fund within five days from the paycheck date.

• Mailing time may take one to three days, and the Trust Fund processes the payment  on the same day it receives it. The payment will be posted to the child support system (KIDS) overnight, and it will be seen on the Child Support Online Services web site by 7:00 the next morning.

• After the payment is posted in KIDS, it takes another two business days before the money is on the debit card or in the payee’s direct deposit account.

After income withholding is established, payments should start coming in according to the employer’s payroll cycle. Almost all employers issue paychecks either weekly, every two weeks, or monthly. Keep in mind that the employer has up to five days to mail the payment, so support payments might not always be posted on the same day of the week.

After the payment gets to the Support Collections Trust Fund, how long before my support payment is on my debit card or in my direct-deposit account?

The Wisconsin Support Collection Trust Fund is the payment-processing center and processes all payments daily, Monday through Saturday. The payment is posted to the child support system, KIDS, overnight, and can be seen on the Child Support Online Services web site the next business day. It takes another two business days before the payments are on the debit card or in the direct-deposit account. (Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays do not count as business days.) So, if the payment is posted on KIDS on a Friday, the money will be on the debit card or in the direct deposit account the following Tuesday.