Child support and your tax refund: the offset rules (2026)

Child support itself is neither taxable nor deductible (see child support and taxes). This guide covers a different question: when past-due support is collected from a parent’s tax refund. It describes federal law and the rules in Texas, New York and Virginia; it is not tax or legal advice for a particular case.

Can child support take your tax refund?

Yes. Federal law requires the Treasury to withhold a federal tax refund to pay past-due child support when a state child support agency certifies the debt (42 U.S.C. § 664(a)). It applies whether the parent filed a single or a joint return. The Treasury withholds up to the amount of the past-due support, notifies the parent, and pays the money to the state agency, which credits it to the case.

The collection runs through the Treasury Offset Program of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which matches debts that agencies report against federal payments. Besides tax refunds, the Fiscal Service says money for child support “may be withheld from your paycheck, tax refund, or other federal payment”.

Only cases handled by a state child support agency (the Title IV-D program) are certified. In Texas that agency is the Attorney General’s Child Support Division; in New York, the Division of Child Support Services; in Virginia, the Division of Child Support Enforcement.

How much back child support before they take your tax refund?

The federal regulation sets two minimums (45 CFR 303.72(a)):

Type of case	Federal refund can be offset when past-due support is at least	Source
Support assigned to the state, because the family received public assistance (TANF) or foster care	$150	45 CFR 303.72(a)(2)
Other cases where the state agency provides child support services	$500	45 CFR 303.72(a)(3); 42 U.S.C. § 664(b)(2)

A state can add up amounts from several cases of the same parent to reach each minimum, but cannot combine the two kinds. New York’s Child Support Program gives the same two figures for federal refunds.

Can state tax refunds be taken too?

It depends on the state:

State	State tax refund offset	Source
Texas	No state income tax, so no state refund exists to offset	Texas Constitution article 8, § 24-a
New York	Yes. Any case is eligible when at least $50 is past due and it has been delinquent for at least two months	New York Division of Child Support Services
Virginia	Yes. The Department of Social Services intercepts state and federal refunds, and may intercept a state refund when the arrears are at least $25	22VAC40-880-380

What notice do you get before and after an offset?

There are two notices:

1. Before. The state agency sends an advance notice that the past-due amount will be referred for offset. It must explain the right to contest the amount, the right to an administrative review, how and by when to ask for one, and what a spouse on a joint return can do (45 CFR 303.72(e)(1); 42 U.S.C. § 664(a)(3)(A)). New York calls this the Special Notice and usually dates the balance in late August.
2. At offset. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service mails a notice showing the original refund, the amount taken and the agency that received it (IRS Topic 203). It also tells a spouse on a joint return how to secure their share.

The IRS says to contact it only if the refund on the Fiscal Service notice differs from the refund on the return. The Fiscal Service’s Treasury Offset Program line is 800-304-3107 (TTY 800-877-8339). The Fiscal Service says it cannot stop, reduce or manage child support, because it only withholds what an agency has certified.

How do you contest a child support tax refund offset?

With the state child support agency, not the IRS. When a parent complains about the advance notice or an offset already made, the agency must hold an administrative review, and if the review finds that more was taken than was owed, it must refund the excess promptly (45 CFR 303.72(f)). In an interstate case, the parent can ask for the review in the state that issued the order (45 CFR 303.72(g)).

State	How a review is requested	Source
Texas	A written complaint to the Attorney General’s Child Support Division, at the address on the notice, asking for an informal resolution or a formal administrative review hearing, within 30 days of receiving the notice	1 Texas Administrative Code § 55.101
New York	A written challenge with supporting documents, sent to the address on the Special Notice within 30 days of its date. Grounds listed: not the person who owes support, no court order, the amount shown is wrong, no support owed. Paying the full past-due amount by the date in the notice is the only other way to stop the offset	New York Division of Child Support Services
Virginia	The department may not pay out an intercepted state refund while the parent’s appeal is pending, and refunds it if the intercept was made in error or exceeded the arrears	22VAC40-880-380

What is an injured spouse claim (Form 8379)?

A spouse who filed a joint return, and whose share of the refund was or will be taken for the other spouse’s past-due child support, can ask the IRS for that share with Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation. According to the IRS instructions:

• it can be filed with the joint return, with an amended return, or on its own after the return is processed;
• it must be filed within three years of the return’s due date, including extensions, or within two years of paying the tax, whichever is later;
• processing takes about 11 weeks with an electronically filed return, about 14 weeks on paper, and about 8 weeks when filed on its own;
• in community property states, including Texas, the IRS allocates the refund under that state’s rules.

For a joint federal return, the state can hold the offset money for up to six months while the injured spouse’s share is worked out (42 U.S.C. § 664(a)(3)(B)). New York’s own form for a joint state return is IT-280, Nonobligated Spouse Allocation.

In Texas, if a confirmed arrears judgment credited a federal refund offset and that credit later shrinks because of an injured spouse claim, an amended return or an audit, the court renders a new judgment for the difference (Texas Family Code § 157.263(c)).

When does the parent receiving support get the money?

Federal law sends the money to the state agency, which distributes it under the federal distribution rules (42 U.S.C. § 664(a)). New York’s Child Support Program says it takes about 10 weeks from the offset letter for the payment to reach the account, and up to six months for a joint federal return. The other two states’ timing was not confirmed.

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not cover offsets of other federal payments in detail, state lottery or insurance intercepts, the order in which offset money is applied to different debts, or the federal distribution rules. For the other enforcement tools in Texas, including interest, license suspension, passport denial and contempt, see back child support in Texas.