How does tax refund intercept work?
A. Tax refund intercept is an enforcement tool used on cases open for services with a Regional Child Support Enforcement Unit. A case is automatically submitted for State and Federal tax refund intercept when certain criteria are met on the case. The State Tax Department and the IRS keep taxpayer information confidential. Neither agency provides Child Support Enforcement with any information about taxpayers so Child Support Enforcement doesn’t know about a tax refund intercept until the intercept payment is received. If taxes are being filed jointly and one of the tax filers doesn’t owe back child support, that person may claim their portion of the tax refund by filing an injured spouse claim (IRS form 8379 [76kb pdf]). The injured spouse claim should be filed with the IRS for the federal refund and the State Child Disbursement Unit for the state refund. Federal tax refund intercepts are first applied to past-due support owed to the state and then to past-due support owing to the famil
