FAQs • Grand Traverse County, MI • CivicEngage

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Friend of the Court: State & Federal Tax Refunds

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1. I received a notice that my Federal tax refund would be taken for child support, when will that money be applied to my account?: 1st, you will receive a tax offset notice. These notices are not generated by the Friend of the Court (FOC); they are generated by the Central Enforcement Unit in Lansing.

You will then receive a letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that your tax refund has been intercepted and will be sent to the FOC. It can take many months before the IRS sends the money to the FOC. You should check your FOC account once a month to see if your tax refund has arrived.

Please visit the IRS website.

2. How do I get the money applied to my account?: If you filed a single return (for you only), the refund amount will be applied to your child support obligation immediately. If money is owed to the State, that account must be paid 1st (by federal law).

If you filed a joint return (for you and your spouse), the information system will hold the money for 6 months before applying the funds to your child support obligation. If your spouse does not want his or her portion of the refund to be used toward the child support arrears, you should contact your tax preparer in order to complete an "injured spouse claim."

3. Can "Held" Federal tax refunds be released prior to the 6-month waiting period?: Yes. Complete the waiver form and have both signatures notarized then return the form to the FOC office.

Please allow a minimum of 30 days for the State to complete the actual release of the funds. Remember: You must 1st verify that the tax refund has actually been received by the FOC. Until the refund is received, our office is unable to process these requests.

View the Waiver Form (PDF).

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