
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC664]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                       CHAPTER 7--SOCIAL SECURITY
 
 SUBCHAPTER IV--GRANTS TO STATES FOR AID AND SERVICES TO NEEDY FAMILIES 
              WITH CHILDREN AND FOR CHILD-WELFARE SERVICES
 
          Part D--Child Support and Establishment of Paternity
 
Sec. 664. Collection of past-due support from Federal tax 
        refunds
        

(a) Procedures applicable; distribution

    (1) Upon receiving notice from a State agency administering a plan 
approved under this part that a named individual owes past-due support 
which has been assigned to such State pursuant to section 608(a)(3) or 
section 671(a)(17) of this title, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
determine whether any amounts, as refunds of Federal taxes paid, are 
payable to such individual (regardless of whether such individual filed 
a tax return as a married or unmarried individual). If the Secretary of 
the Treasury finds that any such amount is payable, he shall withhold 
from such refunds an amount equal to the past-due support, shall 
concurrently send notice to such individual that the withholding has 
been made (including in or with such notice a notification to any other 
person who may have filed a joint return with such individual of the 
steps which such other person may take in order to secure his or her 
proper share of the refund), and shall pay such amount to the State 
agency (together with notice of the individual's home address) for 
distribution in accordance with section 657 of this title. This 
subsection may be executed by the disbursing official of the Department 
of the Treasury.
    (2)(A) Upon receiving notice from a State agency administering a 
plan approved under this part that a named individual owes past-due 
support (as that term is defined for purposes of this paragraph under 
subsection (c) of this section) which such State has agreed to collect 
under section 654(4)(A)(ii) of this title, and that the State agency has 
sent notice to such individual in accordance with paragraph (3)(A), the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall determine whether any amounts, as 
refunds of Federal taxes paid, are payable to such individual 
(regardless of whether such individual filed a tax return as a married 
or unmarried individual). If the Secretary of the Treasury finds that 
any such amount is payable, he shall withhold from such refunds an 
amount equal to such past-due support, and shall concurrently send 
notice to such individual that the withholding has been made, including 
in or with such notice a notification to any other person who may have 
filed a joint return with such individual of the steps which such other 
person may take in order to secure his or her proper share of the 
refund. The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay the amount withheld to 
the State agency, and the State shall pay to the Secretary of the 
Treasury any fee imposed by the Secretary of the Treasury to cover the 
costs of the withholding and any required notification. The State agency 
shall, subject to paragraph (3)(B), distribute such amount to or on 
behalf of the child to whom the support was owed in accordance with 
section 657 of this title. This subsection may be executed by the 
Secretary of the Department of the Treasury or his designee.
    (B) This paragraph shall apply only with respect to refunds payable 
under section 6402 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after December 
31, 1985.
    (3)(A) Prior to notifying the Secretary of the Treasury under 
paragraph (1) or (2) that an individual owes past-due support, the State 
shall send notice to such individual that a withholding will be made 
from any refund otherwise payable to such individual. The notice shall 
also (i) instruct the individual owing the past-due support of the steps 
which may be taken to contest the State's determination that past-due 
support is owed or the amount of the past-due support, and (ii) provide 
information, as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services by regulation in consultation with the Secretary of the 
Treasury, with respect to procedures to be followed, in the case of a 
joint return, to protect the share of the refund which may be payable to 
another person.
    (B) If the Secretary of the Treasury determines that an amount 
should be withheld under paragraph (1) or (2), and that the refund from 
which it should be withheld is based upon a joint return, the Secretary 
of the Treasury shall notify the State that the withholding is being 
made from a refund based upon a joint return, and shall furnish to the 
State the names and addresses of each taxpayer filing such joint return. 
In the case of a withholding under paragraph (2), the State may delay 
distribution of the amount withheld until the State has been notified by 
the Secretary of the Treasury that the other person filing the joint 
return has received his or her proper share of the refund, but such 
delay may not exceed six months.
    (C) If the other person filing the joint return with the named 
individual owing the past-due support takes appropriate action to secure 
his or her proper share of a refund from which a withholding was made 
under paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay such 
share to such other person. The Secretary of the Treasury shall deduct 
the amount of such payment from amounts subsequently payable to the 
State agency to which the amount originally withheld from such refund 
was paid.
    (D) In any case in which an amount was withheld under paragraph (1) 
or (2) and paid to a State, and the State subsequently determines that 
the amount certified as past-due support was in excess of the amount 
actually owed at the time the amount withheld is to be distributed to or 
on behalf of the child, the State shall pay the excess amount withheld 
to the named individual thought to have owed the past-due support (or, 
in the case of amounts withheld on the basis of a joint return, jointly 
to the parties filing such return).

(b) Regulations; contents, etc.

    (1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue regulations, approved 
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, prescribing the time or 
times at which States must submit notices of past-due support, the 
manner in which such notices must be submitted, and the necessary 
information that must be contained in or accompany the notices. The 
regulations shall be consistent with the provisions of subsection (a)(3) 
of this section, shall specify the minimum amount of past-due support to 
which the offset procedure established by subsection (a) of this section 
may be applied, and the fee that a State must pay to reimburse the 
Secretary of the Treasury for the full cost of applying the offset 
procedure, and shall provide that the Secretary of the Treasury will 
advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services, not less frequently 
than annually, of the States which have furnished notices of past-due 
support under subsection (a) of this section, the number of cases in 
each State with respect to which such notices have been furnished, the 
amount of support sought to be collected under this subsection by each 
State, and the amount of such collections actually made in the case of 
each State. Any fee paid to the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to 
this subsection may be used to reimburse appropriations which bore all 
or part of the cost of applying such procedure.
    (2) In the case of withholdings made under subsection (a)(2) of this 
section, the regulations promulgated pursuant to this subsection shall 
include the following requirements:
        (A) The withholding shall apply only in the case where the State 
    determines that the amount of the past-due support which will be 
    owed at the time the withholding is to be made, based upon the 
    pattern of payment of support and other enforcement actions being 
    pursued to collect the past-due support, is equal to or greater than 
    $500. The State may limit the $500 threshold amount to amounts of 
    past-due support accrued since the time that the State first began 
    to enforce the child support order involved under the State plan, 
    and may limit the application of the withholding to past-due support 
    accrued since such time.
        (B) The fee which the Secretary of the Treasury may impose to 
    cover the costs of the withholding and notification may not exceed 
    $25 per case submitted.

(c) ``Past-due support'' defined

    (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), as used in this part the 
term ``past-due support'' means the amount of a delinquency, determined 
under a court order, or an order of an administrative process 
established under State law, for support and maintenance of a child, or 
of a child and the parent with whom the child is living.
    (2) For purposes of subsection (a)(2) of this section, the term 
``past-due support'' means only past-due support 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).
    (3) For purposes of paragraph (2), the term ``qualified child'' 
means a child--
        (A) who is a minor; or
        (B)(i) who, while a minor, was determined to be disabled under 
    subchapter II or XVI of this chapter; and
        (ii) for whom an order of support is in force.

(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, Sec. 464, as added Pub. L. 97-35, 
title XXIII, Sec. 2331(a), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 860; amended Pub. L. 
98-378, Secs. 11(d), 21(a)-(c), Aug. 16, 1984, 98 Stat. 1318, 1322-1324; 
Pub. L. 99-514, Sec. 2, title XVIII, Sec. 1883(b)(8), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 
Stat. 2095, 2917; Pub. L. 101-508, title V, Sec. 5011(a), (b), Nov. 5, 
1990, 104 Stat. 1388-220; Pub. L. 104-134, title III, Sec. 31001(v)(2), 
Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321-375; Pub. L. 104-193, title III, 
Sec. 302(b)(1), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2204; Pub. L. 105-33, title V, 
Secs. 5513(a)(4), 5531(b), 5532(i)(1), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 620, 626, 
627.)

                       References in Text

    The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (a)(2)(B), 
is classified generally to Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.


                               Amendments

    1997--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 105-33, Sec. 5513(a)(4), substituted 
``section 608(a)(3)'' for ``section 602(a)(26)''.
    Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 105-33, Sec. 5531(b), substituted 
``section 654(4)(A)(ii)'' for ``section 654(6)'' in first sentence.
    Pub. L. 105-33, Sec. 5532(i)(1), inserted ``in accordance with 
section 657 of this title'' after ``owed'' in penultimate sentence.
    1996--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 104-134, Sec. 31001(v)(2)(1), inserted 
at end ``This subsection may be executed by the disbursing official of 
the Department of the Treasury.''
    Pub. L. 104-193 substituted ``section 657'' for ``section 657(b)(4) 
or (d)(3)''.
    Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 104-134, Sec. 31001(v)(2)(2), inserted at 
end ``This subsection may be executed by the Secretary of the Department 
of the Treasury or his designee.''
    1990--Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 5011(a), struck out 
``, and before January 1, 1991'' after ``1985''.
    Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 5011(b)(1), substituted 
``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)'' for ``minor child''.
    Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 5011(b)(2), added par. (3).
    1986--Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 99-514, Sec. 2, substituted 
``Internal Revenue Code of 1986'' for ``Internal Revenue Code of 1954''.
    Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 99-514, Sec. 1883(b)(8), substituted 
``threshold'' for ``threshhold''.
    1984--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-378, Sec. 21(a), (b)(1), designated 
existing provisions as par. (1), substituted ``shall concurrently send 
notice to such individual that the withholding has been made (including 
in or with such notice a notification to any other person who may have 
filed a joint return with such individual of the steps which such other 
person may take in order to secure his or her proper share of the 
refund), and shall pay'' for ``and pay'', and added pars. (2) and (3).
    Pub. L. 98-378, Sec. 11(d), inserted ``or section 671(a)(17)'' and 
substituted ``section 657(b)(4) or (d)(3)'' for ``section 657(b)(3)''.
    Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 98-378, Sec. 21(b)(2), designated existing 
provisions as par. (1), substituted ``The regulations shall be 
consistent with the provisions of subsection (a)(3) of this section, 
shall specify'' for ``The regulations shall specify'', substituted ``and 
shall provide'' for ``and provide'', inserted provision that any fee 
paid to the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to subsec. (b) may be 
used to reimburse appropriations which bore all or part of the cost of 
applying such procedure, and added par. (2).
    Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 98-378, Sec. 21(c), designated existing 
provisions as par. (1), inserted reference to par. (2), and added par. 
(2).


                    Effective Date of 1997 Amendment

    Amendment by section 5513(a)(4) of Pub. L. 105-33 effective as if 
included in section 108 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-193, at the time 
such section 108 became law, see section 5518(b) of Pub. L. 105-33, set 
out as a note under section 652 of this title.
    Amendment by sections 5531(b) and 5532(i)(1) of Pub. L. 105-33 
effective as if included in the enactment of title III of the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 
104-193, see section 5557 of Pub. L. 105-33, set out as a note under 
section 608 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 104-193 effective Oct. 1, 1996, or earlier at 
the State's option, see section 302(c) of Pub. L. 104-193, set out as a 
note under section 657 of this title.
    For provisions relating to effective date of title III of Pub. L. 
104-193, see section 395(a)-(c) of Pub. L. 104-193, set out as a note 
under section 654 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

    Section 5011(c) of Pub. L. 101-508 provided that: ``The amendments 
made by subsection (b) [amending this section] shall take effect on 
January 1, 1991.''


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Amendment by section 11(d) of Pub. L. 98-378 effective Oct. 1, 1984, 
and applicable to collections made on or after that date, see section 
11(e) of Pub. L. 98-378, set out as a note under section 654 of this 
title.
    Amendment by section 21(a)-(c) of Pub. L. 98-378 applicable with 
respect to refunds payable under section 6402 of Title 26, Internal 
Revenue Code, after Dec. 31, 1985, see section 21(g) of Pub. L. 98-378, 
set out as a note under section 6103 of Title 26.


                             Effective Date

    Section effective Oct. 1, 1981, except as otherwise specifically 
provided, see section 2336 of Pub. L. 97-35, set out as an Effective 
Date of 1981 Amendment note under section 651 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 608, 654, 657 of this title; 
title 5 section 552a; title 26 section 6402.
