Child Support
When parents become delinquent in paying court-ordered child support, their state’s child-support agency can request that the Treasury Department withhold money from their tax refund to cover the back payments. People in this situation should receive a pre-offset notice explaining how much they owe, how the offset process works, and how to contest the debt. Once the money has been withheld from their refund, they should also receive an offset notice from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service showing how much money it withheld and referring them back to the state child-support agency if they have further questions.