The Division of Child Support Services has the authority, together with the Delaware Division of Revenue, to seize State income tax refunds to which the non-custodial parent may be entitled. The non-custodial parents subject to State income tax refund interception are those who owe child support of $150.00 or more.

The Division will send notices to those people who meet the criteria for State income tax refund interception,informing them that they are not in compliance with their court orders and are subject to State income tax refund interception. Anyone receiving a notice will have the opportunity to take action to avoid having their State income tax refund intercepted. Within 30 days of receiving a notice of State income tax refund interception, a person may pay their arrears in full, or request, in writing, an administrative hearing. Those people, who do not pay their delinquent child support, or request an administrative hearing will be subject to State income tax refund interception.

Additional facts about this enforcement action that custodial parents should be aware of include: There is no guarantee that the non-custodial parent is due a tax refund. Thus, there is no guarantee that any money will be collected by DCSS on your behalf. In addition, if the non-custodial parent is due a tax refund, there is no way to predict when DCSS will get the money for distribution to you.

If a collection made on your behalf is from a joint State of Delaware income tax return, the spouse of the NCP may be entitled to receive a portion of any joint tax refund. The Delaware Division of Revenue will determine what portion of the joint refund the spouse is entitled and forward the remaining amount to DCSS to be applied to the child support case.

If the same non-custodial parent owes over-due support to two or more child support cases, any money collected will be proportionately distributed among all cases according to federal regulations.

The non-custodial parent may contest DCSS's finding that (s)he owes delinquent support by requesting an administrative hearing. If a hearing is requested by the NCP, you may be contacted to appear at the hearing.

If you are a married or civil union non-custodial parent and file a joint return with the State of Delaware, the Division of Revenue (DOR), can determine what portion of the joint tax refund your spouse is entitled. You will receive a notice from the DOR indicating that your refund will be forwarded to DCSS for over-due child support. You have 30 days after receiving that notice to contact them so that they can make the refund determination. After the determination is made, DOR will send the remaining tax money to DCSS to fulfill your child support obligation.