Free State Tax Offset of Child Support Debts - New Jersey

If the unobligated spouse was the only wage earner in the household and/or the property listed on the Homestead or NJ Saver notice is in his/her name only the spouse will be entitled to the entire refund upon receipt of the proper documentation. The appeal should be submitted within 35 days of the date of the Notice of Intended Offset. If the appeal arrives too late, and the State Offset amount already has been distributed the refund or rebate that would have gone to the unobligated spouse cannot be returned.

If your State Income Tax Refund or Homestead Rebate or New Jersey Saver Property Tax Rebate is sent to the PCSE unit and there are no arrears, the funds will be returned to the taxpayer.

This brochure is published by the Child Support Enforcement Services Administrative Office of the Courts New Jersey Judiciary

How can I find out my status of my State Tax Offset? The Child Support Hotline (800-621-KIDS) provides eligibility information for the Tax Offset Program. You will need your child support case number to use the automated system. Stuart Rabner, Chief Justice

State Tax Offset of Child Support Debts

I have received a notice that my refund or rebate has been offset. Why hasn't my account been credited? After the Division of Revenue notifies you that your State Income Tax Refund or Homestead Rebate or New Jersey Saver Property Tax Rebate is to be offset, the Division of Revenue holds your refund for 35 days so you can appeal. If there is no appeal, the refund or rebate will be sent electronically to the Division of Family Development for coordinating the distribution of funds. This process may take approximately 60 days from the date of your offset notice. For additional information, you can contact the PCSE unit that handles your case or the Administrative Office of the Courts, Child Support Enforcement Services at (609)292-8908.

Glenn A. Grant, J.A.D. Acting Administrative Director of the Courts John P. McCarthy, Jr., Esq., Director Trial Court Services Robert P. Sebastian, Assistant Director Probation Services Richard Narcini, Chief Child Support Enforcement Services Customer Service Committee

My State Income Tax Refund and Homestead Rebate and New Jersey Saver Property Tax Rebate have been offset, and I have paid the past-due child support. How can I get my refund and rebate back? Arrears information is updated every two weeks by the Automated Child Support Enforcement System (ACSES). If the arrears have been paid, the Division of Revenue will delete it from SOIL. The State Income Tax Refund or Homestead Rebate or New Jersey Saver Property Tax Rebate will be sent to the taxpayer by the Division of Revenue.

Visit the New Jersey Judiciary's Internet homepage: http://www.njcourts.com For additional information, contact: The Administrative Office of the Courts Child Support Enforcement Services (609) 292-8908

Probation Services Division Administrative Office of the Courts New Jersey Judiciary Trenton NJ 08625

CN: 10740-English

Revised 3/15/06

If there is a qualifying arrears on a child support case in New Jersey, the Division of Family Development must submit that arrears to the New Jersey Division of Revenue. Any State Income Tax Refund or Homestead Rebate or New Jersey Saver Property Tax Rebate that is due to the person who must pay child support may be taken and used to pay part of the support arrears. This is called "State Tax Offset" or SOIL (which stands for "Offset Individual Liability"). When a case is submitted for SOIL, only a State Income Tax Refund or a Homestead Rebate or a New Jersey Saver Property Tax Rebate is taken. The refund or rebate is received by the Probation Child Support Enforcement (PCSE) unit that handles your case, and then is used to reduce the child support arrears.

The PCSE unit cannot remove a case from SOIL even if the person to whom the arrears are owed requests it. If the case is payable through Probation and the debt qualifies, it must be submitted for SOIL.

State Tax Offset, child support arrears still exist.

Will I be notified before my State Income Tax Refund or my Homestead Rebate or New Jersey Saver Property Tax Rebate is taken? You will receive a Notice of Intended Offset from the Division of Revenue showing how much of your refund or rebate is to be taken, and by which agency. The Division of Revenue holds your refund or rebate for 35 days from the date of the notice so you can appeal the taking of your refund or rebate.

Is the debt that shows on my Notice of Intended Offset, the full amount due on my case? The amounts on the notice show the total amount of your refund/rebate and the amount offset. You may be offset up to the entire amount of your refund not to exceed the amount of arrears at the time your case was selected for SOIL. If you wish to know the exact amount that you owe, you should call the Child Support Hotline at 1-800-621-5437 or log on to the Child Support Website: www.njchildsupport.org.

Letters, phone calls or visits to the PCSE unit are not appeals and will not stop State Tax Offset. The Division of Family Development will notify the Division of Revenue to place a hold on your refund or rebate. The Division of Family Development will conduct an administrative review and notify you of their decision in writing. If necessary your appeal information will be sent to the PCSE unit that handles your case. The PCSE unit will review the appeal information and notify you in writing of their appeal decision. If the PCSE unit cannot reach a decision using the documents you have provided a hearing will be scheduled. You must attend this hearing.

What are acceptable reasons for an appeal? You are not the person identified in the notice, you owe less than the qualifying arrears, there is a current bankruptcy proceeding, you have a court order specifically preventing SOIL

When is a case submitted for SOIL? To qualify for SOIL, the arrears must be more than the amount of one month's support if there is a continuing support obligation, or $25 if the case is for arrears only. If the arrears are for child support only or for partly child support and partly for a spouse, the full amount of the arrears can be submitted for SOIL. If the arrears are for spousal support only, the arrears cannot be submitted for SOIL

I filed jointly with my spouse. Can the PCSE unit take my spouse's part of the State Income Tax Refund or Homestead Rebate or New Jersey Saver Property Tax Rebate?

I have filed for bankruptcy. How does this affect SOIL? That depends on the type of bankruptcy you have filed. If you have filed a Chapter 7, the PCSE unit will stop the State Tax Offset for the year that you have filed, and any past years for which the refunds or rebates have not been received and distributed. If you have filed a Chapter 13, the PCSE unit will stop the State Tax Offset for the year in which you filed bankruptcy. This includes any past years in which the refunds or rebates have not yet been received and distributed and each year for the rest of the bankruptcy plan. It is important that you notify the PCSE unit that handles your case when you file for bankruptcy. Child support arrears are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. While filing bankruptcy may stop

How can I appeal SOIL? You have 35 days from the date of the Notice of Intended Offset to appeal State Tax Offset. The 35 day appeal time starts as of the date of the notice, not the date that you actually receive it. To appeal you must write a letter. It is important to state that you are appealing the State Tax Offset and why. Send copies of records or documents or payment receipts to prove what you write in your letter. Do not send originals. They cannot be returned to you. You must send your appeal to: NJ Division of Family Development CSP Tax Offset Unit PO Box 716 Trenton, NJ 08625

If you file jointly, the full amount of your State Income Tax Refund or Homestead Rebate or New Jersey Saver Property Tax Rebate is available for SOIL. If the spouse who does not have to pay child support wishes to protect his or her part of the refund/rebate from offset, that person should appeal to the Division of Family Development. The unobligated spouse should include a copy of the NJ 1040 form as well a as W2 form for both parties. If the property listed in the offset notice for the Homestead Rebate or NJ Saver Rebate is jointly owned/rented, then the parties should provide a copy of the deed or lease to the property and/or proof of mortgage or rent payments. Half of the State Income Tax Refund or Homestead or Saver Rebate can be released directly to the unobligated spouse upon receipt of the proper documentation.

I have support arrears, but I am making regular payments through income withholding. Why is the PCSE unit taking my State Income Tax Refund or my Homestead Rebate or New Jersey Saver Rebate? SOIL is required in all cases where there is qualifying support arrears even if regular payments are being made. Only a pending bankruptcy or a specific court order can prevent a qualifying case from being submitted for SOIL.