[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 2]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR303.72]

[Page 253-256]
 
                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
 
    CHAPTER III--OFFICE OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT (CHILD SUPPORT 
 
PART 303_STANDARDS FOR PROGRAM OPERATIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 303.72  Requests for collection of past-due support by Federal tax 
refund offset.

    (a) Past-due support qualifying for offset. Past-due support as 
defined in Sec. 301.1 of this chapter qualifies for offset if:
    (1) There has been an assignment of the support rights under section 
408(a)(3) of the Act or section 471(a)(17) of the Act to the State 
making the request for offset or the IV-D agency is providing services 
under Sec. 302.33 of this chapter.
    (2) For support that has been assigned to the State under section 
408(a)(3) of the Act or section 471(a)(17) of the Act, the amount of the 
support is not less than $150. The State may combine assigned support 
amounts from the same obligor in multiple cases to reach $150. Amounts 
under this paragraph may not be combined with amounts under paragraph 
(a)(3) of this section to reach the minimum amounts required under this 
paragraph or under paragraph (a)(3) of this section.
    (3) For support owed in cases where the IV-D agency is providing IV-
D services under Sec. 302.33 of this chapter:
    (i) The support is owed to or on behalf of a qualified child, or a 
qualified child and the parent with whom the child is living if the same 
support order includes support for the child and the parent.
    (ii) The amount of support is not less than $500. The State may 
combine support amounts from the same obligor in multiple cases where 
the IV-D agency is providing IV-D services under Sec. 302.33 of this 
chapter to reach $500. Amounts under this paragraph may not be combined 
with amounts under paragraph (a)(2) of this section to reach the minimum 
amounts required under this paragraph or under paragraph (a)(2) of this 
section.
    (iii) At State option, the amount has accrued since the State IV-D 
agency began to enforce the support order; and
    (iv) The State has checked its records to determine if a title IV-A 
or foster care maintenance assigned arrearage exists with respect to the 
non-IV-A individual or family.
    (4) The IV-D agency has in its records:
    (i) A copy of the order and any modifications upon which the amount 
referred is based which specify the date of issuance and amount of 
support;
    (ii) A copy of the payment record, or, if there is no payment 
record, an affidavit signed by the custodial parent attesting to the 
amount of support owed; and
    (iii) In non-IV-A cases, the custodial parent's current address.
    (5) Before submittal, the State IV-D agency has verified the 
accuracy of the name and social security number of the noncustodial 
parent and the accuracy

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of the past-due support amount. If the State IV-D agency has verified 
this information previously, it need not reverify it.
    (6) A notification of liability for past-due support has been 
received by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury as prescribed by 
paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
    (b) Notification to OCSE of liability for past-due support. (1) A 
State IV-D agency shall submit a notification or (notifications) of 
liability for past-due support to the Office according to the timeframes 
and in the manner specified by the Office in instructions.
    (2) To the extent specified by the Office in instructions, the 
notification of liability for past-due support shall contain with 
respect to each:
    (i) The name of the taxpayer who owes the past-due support;
    (ii) The social security number of that taxpayer;
    (iii) The amount of past-due support owed;
    (iv) The State codes as contained in the Federal Information 
Processing Standards (FIPS) publication of the National Bureau of 
Standards and also promulgated by the General Services Administration in 
Worldwide Geographical Location Codes; and
    (v) Whether the past-due support is due an individual who applied 
for services under Sec. 302.33 of this chapter.
    (3) The notification of liability for past-due support may contain 
with respect to each delinquency the taxpayer's IV-D identifier.
    (c) Review of requests by the Office. (1) The Deputy Director will 
review each request to determine whether it meets the requirements of 
this section.
    (2) If a request meets all requirements, the Deputy Director will 
transmit the request to the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and will 
notify the State IV-D agency of the transmittal.
    (3) If a request does not meet all requirements, the Deputy Director 
will attempt to correct the request in consultation with the State IV-D 
agency.
    (4) If a request cannot be corrected through consultation, the 
Deputy Director will return it to the State IV-D agency with an 
explanation of why the request could not be transmitted to the Secretary 
of the U.S. Treasury.
    (d) Notification of changes in case status. (1) The State referring 
past-due support of offset must, in interstate situations, notify any 
other State involved in enforcing the support order when it submits an 
interstate case for offset and when it receives the offset amount from 
the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
    (2) The State IV-D agency shall within time frames established by 
the Office in instructions, notify the Deputy Director of any deletion 
of an amount referred for collection by Federal tax offset or any 
decrease in the amount if the decrease is significant according to the 
guidelines developed by the State. The notification shall contain the 
information specified in paragraph (b) of this section.
    (e) Notices of offset--(1) Advance. The State IV-D agency, or the 
Office, if the State requests and the Office agrees, shall send a 
written advance notice to inform a noncustodial parent that the amount 
of his or her past-due support will be referred to the Secretary of the 
U.S. Treasury for collection by Federal tax refund offset. The notice 
must inform noncustodial parents:
    (i) Of their right to contest the State's determination that past-
due support is owed or the amount of past-due support;
    (ii) Of their right to an administrative review by the submitting 
State or at the noncustodial parent's request the State with the order 
upon which the referral for offset is based;
    (iii) Of the procedures and timeframe for contacting the IV-D agency 
in the submitting State to request administrative review; and
    (iv) That, in the case of a joint return, the Secretary of the U.S. 
Treasury will notify the noncustodial parent's spouse at the time of 
offset regarding the steps to take to protect the share of the refund 
which may be payable to that spouse. If the IV-D agency sends the 
notice, it must meet the conditions specified by the Office in 
instructions.
    (2) At offset. The Secretary of the U.S. Treasury will notify the 
noncustodial parent that the offset has been made. The Secretary of the 
U.S. Treasury will also notify any individual who filed a

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joint return with the noncustodial parent of the steps to take in order 
to secure a proper share of the refund.
    (f) Procedures for contesting in intrastate cases. (1) Upon receipt 
of a complaint from a noncustodial parent in response to the advance 
notice required in paragraph (e)(1) of this section or concerning a tax 
refund which has already been offset, the IV-D agency must send a notice 
to the noncustodial parent and, in non-IV-A cases the custodial parent, 
of the time and place of the administrative review of the complaint and 
conduct the review to determine the validity of the complaint.
    (2) If the complaint concerns a joint tax refund that has not yet 
been offset, the IV-D agency must inform the noncustodial parent that 
the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury will notify the noncustodial parent's 
spouse at the time of offset regarding the steps to take to secure his 
or her proper share of the refund. If the complaint concerns a joint tax 
refund which has already been offset, the IV-D agency must refer the 
noncustodial parent to the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
    (3) If the administrative review results in a deletion of, or 
decrease in, the amount referred for offset, the IV-D agency must notify 
OCSE within time frames established by the Office and include the 
information specified in paragraph (b) of this section.
    (4) If, as a result of the administrative review, an amount which 
has already been offset is found to have exceeded the amount of past-due 
support owed, the IV-D agency must take steps to refund the excess 
amount to the noncustodial parent promptly.
    (g) Procedures for contesting in interstate cases. (1) If the 
noncustodial parent requests an administrative review in the submitting 
State, the IV-D agency must meet the requirements in paragraph (f) of 
this section.
    (2) If the complaint cannot be resolved by the submitting State and 
the noncustodial parent requests an administrative review in the State 
with the order upon which the referral for offset is based, the 
submitting State must notify the State with the order of the request for 
an administrative review and provide that State with all necessary 
information, including the information listed under paragraph (a)(4) of 
this section, within 10 days of the noncustodial parent's request for an 
administrative review.
    (3) The State with the order must send a notice to the noncustodial 
parent and, in non-IV-A cases the custodial parent, of the time and 
place of the administrative review, conduct the review and make a 
decision within 45 days of receipt of the notice and information from 
the submitting State.
    (4) If the administrative review results in a deletion of, or change 
in, the amount referred for offset, the State with the order must notify 
the submitting State within time frames established by the Office and 
include the information specified in paragraph (b) of this section. The 
submitting State must then notify the Office within timeframes 
established by the Office and include the information specified in 
paragraph (b) of this section.
    (5) Upon resolution of a complaint after an offset has been made, 
the State with the order must notify the submitting State of its 
decision promptly.
    (6) When an administrative review is conducted in the State with the 
order, the submitting State is bound by the decision made by the State 
with the order.
    (7) Based on the decision of the State with the order, the IV-D 
agency in the submitting State must take steps to refund any excess 
amount to the noncustodial parent promptly.
    (8) In computing the arrearage collection performance level under 
Sec. 305.2(a)(4) of this chapter, if the case is referred to the State 
with the order for an administrative review, the collections made as a 
result of Federal tax refund offset will be treated as having been 
collected in full by both the submitting State and the State with the 
order.
    (h) Distribution of collections. (1) Collections received by the IV-
D agency as a result of refund offset to satisfy title IV-A or non-IV-A 
past-due support shall be distributed as past-due support as required in 
accordance with section 457 of the Act.
    (2) Collections received by the IV-D agency in foster care 
maintenance cases shall be distributed as past-due

[[Page 256]]

support under Sec. 302.52(b) (3) and (4) of this chapter.
    (3) The IV-D agency must inform individuals receiving services under 
Sec. 302.33 of this chapter in advance that amounts offset will be 
applied to satisfy any past-due support which has been assigned to the 
State and submitted for Federal tax refund offset.
    (4) If the amount collected is in excess of the amounts required to 
be distributed under section 457 of the Act, the IV-D agency must repay 
the excess to the noncustodial parent whose refund was offset or to the 
parties filing a joint return within a reasonable period in accordance 
with State law.
    (5) In cases where the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, through OCSE, 
notifies the State that an offset is being made to satisfy non-IV-A 
past-due support from a refund based on a joint return, the State may 
delay distribution until notified that the unobligated spouse's proper 
share of the refund has been paid or for a period not to exceed six 
months from notification of offset, whichever is earlier.
    (6) Collections from offset may be applied only to cases that were 
being enforced by the IV-D agency at the time the advance notice 
described in paragraph (e)(1) of this section was sent.
    (i) Payment of fee. (1) A refund offset fee, in such amount as the 
Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services have agreed to be sufficient to reimburse the Department of 
Treasury for the full cost of the offset procedure, shall be deducted 
from the offset amount and credited to the Department of Treasury 
appropriations which bore all or part of the costs involved in making 
the collection. The full amount offset must be credited against the 
obligor's payment record. The fee which the Secretary of the U.S. 
Treasury may impose with respect to non-IV-A submittals shall not exceed 
$25 per submittal.
    (2) The State IV-D agency may charge an individual who is receiving 
services under Sec. 302.33(a)(1) (i) or (iii) of this chapter a fee not 
to exceed $25 for submitting past-due support for Federal tax refund 
offset. The State must inform the individual in advance of the amount of 
any fee charged.
    (3) Any State which requests the Office to send the advance written 
notice under paragraph (e)(1) of this section will be charged a fee, in 
an amount established by the Office in instructions, for printing and 
mailing of pre-offset notices. This fee shall be credited to the Health 
and Human Services appropriations which bore all or part of the costs 
involved in making the collection.
    (j) Each State involved in a referral of past-due support for offset 
must comply with instructions issued by the Office.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 
0960-0385)

[50 FR 19651, May 9, 1985; 50 FR 31719, Aug. 6, 1985, as amended at 51 
FR 37731, Oct. 24, 1986; 53 FR 47710, Nov. 25, 1988; 54 FR 32312, Aug. 
4, 1989; 56 FR 8005, Feb. 26, 1991; 58 FR 41437, Aug. 4, 1993; 64 FR 
6251, Feb. 9, 1999; 68 FR 25304, May 12, 2003; 68 FR 37980, June 26, 
2003; 68 FR 53052, Sept. 9, 2003]