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Tax Intercept
Hello, I have been lurking here on and off since 97' History: Paternity suit victim, child 14 years old. State of Arkansas. Stipulated to paternity after DNA testing 6 months ago. Mother awarded 5 years retro-active support. Retro support to be paid weekly in addition to current support. Fines, fees and testing cost awarded to state. Fines, fees and testing were paid off in allotted 6 months. Current and retro support paid 2 weeks in advance thru child support clearinghouse. Got a pre-tax intercept notice in OCT ($230.00). Wrote letter to local OCSE requesting admin hearing, They did not answer. called after 14 days, they could not explain how the came up with the amount. I requested that they send me something in writing, 10 days past and I then wrote them another letter requesting that they explain how they came up with the arrearages and if they were going to certify the debt or not. Still no answer. Should I write my congressman or governor? or both? While the amount is small, a capture will just screw things up. and besides I feel they are making me out to be a deadbeat, I have perfect payment record. That's what really sucks. I think they are not crediting my payments in a timely manner, creating a FALSE arrearage, so they can "claim" they increased collections and get federal incentive dollars. I pay with a check, send payment certified mail with return receipt, reconcile my record with the date that my check was cashed by their bank. I keep all of this in an excel spreadsheet. While speaking to the OCSE caseworker/drone she indicated that next year they would try to intercept the retro-active arrearages. I asked her why, when I was making the payments as scheduled. She indicated that it was because by the court order it would take too long to pay it off. My first thought was to decrease my withholding to prevent an intercept, however if I did that I would end up owing taxes and increase my income, warranting a modification. Apparently these fools can do anything they wish with impunity. I plan on using the tax tip for unwed fathers this year. My question is, if I have a refund due can I check the box that says apply my refund towards next years taxes thereby preventing an unlawful interception. and if I can may I do this several years (4 more) in a row? If anyone has any tips for dealing with the OCSE Nazi's I'd really appreciate it. I enjoy reading what the regulars have to say, and I plan to post more in the future. TIA for replies |
#2
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Tax Intercept
"agrich" wrote in message hlink.net... Hello, I have been lurking here on and off since 97' History: Paternity suit victim, child 14 years old. State of Arkansas. Stipulated to paternity after DNA testing 6 months ago. Mother awarded 5 years retro-active support. Retro support to be paid weekly in addition to current support. Fines, fees and testing cost awarded to state. Fines, fees and testing were paid off in allotted 6 months. Current and retro support paid 2 weeks in advance thru child support clearinghouse. Got a pre-tax intercept notice in OCT ($230.00). Wrote letter to local OCSE requesting admin hearing, They did not answer. called after 14 days, they could not explain how the came up with the amount. I requested that they send me something in writing, 10 days past and I then wrote them another letter requesting that they explain how they came up with the arrearages and if they were going to certify the debt or not. Still no answer. Should I write my congressman or governor? or both? While the amount is small, a capture will just screw things up. and besides I feel they are making me out to be a deadbeat, I have perfect payment record. That's what really sucks. I think they are not crediting my payments in a timely manner, creating a FALSE arrearage, so they can "claim" they increased collections and get federal incentive dollars. I pay with a check, send payment certified with return receipt, reconcile my record with the date that my check was cashed by their bank. I keep all of this in an excel spreadsheet. While speaking to the OCSE caseworker/drone she indicated that next year they would try to intercept the retro-active arrearages. I asked her why, when I was making the payments as scheduled. She indicated that it was because by the court order it would take too long to pay it off. My first thought was to decrease my withholding to prevent an intercept, however if I did that I would end up owing taxes and increase my income, warranting a modification. Apparently these fools can do anything they wish with impunity. I plan on using the tax tip for unwed fathers this year. My question is, if I have a refund due can I check the box that says apply my refund towards next years taxes thereby preventing an unlawful interception. and if I can may I do this several years (4 more) in a row? If anyone has any tips for dealing with the OCSE Nazi's I'd really appreciate it. I enjoy reading what the regulars have to say, and I plan to post more in the future. TIA for replies You've raised a lot of issues, but I'll try to address them one at a time. Tax Intercepts - As long as you have an arrearage due they will go after federal and state tax refunds. My recommendation would be to go back to whoever you worked with to set up the payment schedule and see if they can help you. As you might know, there are several groups within each state's CS accounting units i.e. one for collections and disbursements, one for liens, one for tax intercepts, etc. Try to find the manager over all of the groups and communicate with them. Taxes - You mentioned the tax tip, and I'll assume that means you know as a never married father you have the right to take the child as an exemption if you meet the IRS test of paying more than 50% of the defined expenses. Also, I would recommend adjusting your withholding exemptions so you have a small tax to pay at the end of each year. That way there is no tax refund to intercept. As long as you pay 90% (IIRC) of the tax due, there is no penalty for underpaying taxes due through withholding. You can also do what you suggested, i.e. apply any refund to your next year's taxes due, and that will protect any refund from being intercepted. Hearings - You are doing the right thing - exercise your right to a hearing on any issue they throw at you. and keep good records. One hint on hearings: Make sure you understand the time limits for administrative hearings and appeals to a circuit court judge. On some issues the time allowed for both activities runs concurrently, so you can't wait for a response from the state before filing for a court date. Holding Payments - There are statutory requirements on the time frame for turn around between receipt of payments and disbursements. However, as the obligee you only have to watch them for how they process and credit your payments. You are right - they play games with the CS accounting to justify their existence. They bill CS accruals one month in advance and credit your payments one month in arrears. Administratively that practice creates and arrearage on every case file for them to take credit for collecting. My advice would be to do a quick audit of your account every month so you stay on top of any discrepancies. Case Workers - These people are mostly former welfare recipients who follow business process procedures written out for them. If you ever need something out of the ordinary, go to a supervisor/manager to get help. Ask everyone you contact who their supervisor is and how to contact then. Email is an effective way to get higher level managers to respond. If they don't respond go up one level. There is going to be a top civilian manager, a deputy Attorney General over CS administration, the state Attorney General, and the Governor in the hierarchy and if they don't respond keep going up the chain of command. |
#3
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Tax Intercept
"agrich" wrote in message hlink.net... Hello, I have been lurking here on and off since 97' History: Paternity suit victim, child 14 years old. State of Arkansas. Stipulated to paternity after DNA testing 6 months ago. Mother awarded 5 years retro-active support. Retro support to be paid weekly in addition to current support. Fines, fees and testing cost awarded to state. Fines, fees and testing were paid off in allotted 6 months. Current and retro support paid 2 weeks in advance thru child support clearinghouse. Got a pre-tax intercept notice in OCT ($230.00). Wrote letter to local OCSE requesting admin hearing, They did not answer. called after 14 days, they could not explain how the came up with the amount. I requested that they send me something in writing, 10 days past and I then wrote them another letter requesting that they explain how they came up with the arrearages and if they were going to certify the debt or not. Still no answer. Should I write my congressman or governor? or both? While the amount is small, a capture will just screw things up. and besides I feel they are making me out to be a deadbeat, I have perfect payment record. That's what really sucks. I think they are not crediting my payments in a timely manner, creating a FALSE arrearage, so they can "claim" they increased collections and get federal incentive dollars. I pay with a check, send payment certified with return receipt, reconcile my record with the date that my check was cashed by their bank. I keep all of this in an excel spreadsheet. While speaking to the OCSE caseworker/drone she indicated that next year they would try to intercept the retro-active arrearages. I asked her why, when I was making the payments as scheduled. She indicated that it was because by the court order it would take too long to pay it off. My first thought was to decrease my withholding to prevent an intercept, however if I did that I would end up owing taxes and increase my income, warranting a modification. Apparently these fools can do anything they wish with impunity. I plan on using the tax tip for unwed fathers this year. My question is, if I have a refund due can I check the box that says apply my refund towards next years taxes thereby preventing an unlawful interception. and if I can may I do this several years (4 more) in a row? If anyone has any tips for dealing with the OCSE Nazi's I'd really appreciate it. I enjoy reading what the regulars have to say, and I plan to post more in the future. TIA for replies You've raised a lot of issues, but I'll try to address them one at a time. Tax Intercepts - As long as you have an arrearage due they will go after federal and state tax refunds. My recommendation would be to go back to whoever you worked with to set up the payment schedule and see if they can help you. As you might know, there are several groups within each state's CS accounting units i.e. one for collections and disbursements, one for liens, one for tax intercepts, etc. Try to find the manager over all of the groups and communicate with them. Taxes - You mentioned the tax tip, and I'll assume that means you know as a never married father you have the right to take the child as an exemption if you meet the IRS test of paying more than 50% of the defined expenses. Also, I would recommend adjusting your withholding exemptions so you have a small tax to pay at the end of each year. That way there is no tax refund to intercept. As long as you pay 90% (IIRC) of the tax due, there is no penalty for underpaying taxes due through withholding. You can also do what you suggested, i.e. apply any refund to your next year's taxes due, and that will protect any refund from being intercepted. Hearings - You are doing the right thing - exercise your right to a hearing on any issue they throw at you. and keep good records. One hint on hearings: Make sure you understand the time limits for administrative hearings and appeals to a circuit court judge. On some issues the time allowed for both activities runs concurrently, so you can't wait for a response from the state before filing for a court date. Holding Payments - There are statutory requirements on the time frame for turn around between receipt of payments and disbursements. However, as the obligee you only have to watch them for how they process and credit your payments. You are right - they play games with the CS accounting to justify their existence. They bill CS accruals one month in advance and credit your payments one month in arrears. Administratively that practice creates and arrearage on every case file for them to take credit for collecting. My advice would be to do a quick audit of your account every month so you stay on top of any discrepancies. Case Workers - These people are mostly former welfare recipients who follow business process procedures written out for them. If you ever need something out of the ordinary, go to a supervisor/manager to get help. Ask everyone you contact who their supervisor is and how to contact then. Email is an effective way to get higher level managers to respond. If they don't respond go up one level. There is going to be a top civilian manager, a deputy Attorney General over CS administration, the state Attorney General, and the Governor in the hierarchy and if they don't respond keep going up the chain of command. |
#4
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Tax Intercept
"agrich" wrote in message hlink.net... Hello, I have been lurking here on and off since 97' == You've been lurking since 97 and this is your first post? Gawd--How on earth were you able to keep your mouth shut that long? You must have a gift ;-) (More below) == History: Paternity suit victim, child 14 years old. State of Arkansas. Stipulated to paternity after DNA testing 6 months ago. Mother awarded 5 years retro-active support. Retro support to be paid weekly in addition to current support. Fines, fees and testing cost awarded to state. Fines, fees and testing were paid off in allotted 6 months. Current and retro support paid 2 weeks in advance thru child support clearinghouse. Got a pre-tax intercept notice in OCT ($230.00). Wrote letter to local OCSE requesting admin hearing, They did not answer. === Did you send it certified, return receipt requested? All correspondence should be in writing/certified mail. Never communicate important issues by phone. === called after 14 days, they could not explain how the came up with the amount. I requested that they send me something in writing, 10 days past and I then wrote them another letter requesting that they explain how they came up with the arrearages and if they were going to certify the debt or not. Still no answer. Should I write my congressman or governor? or both? == In FL., official communications re CS cases are handled by the circuit clerk. The circuit clerk is also responsible for the official accounting on CS cases. If that is the case in Arkansas, your communications need to go there--not CS enforcement. You need to find out who the official recordkeeper is. You have a right to an accounting. (More Below) == While the amount is small, a capture will just screw things up. and besides I feel they are making me out to be a deadbeat, I have perfect payment record. That's what really sucks. I think they are not crediting my payments in a timely manner, creating a FALSE arrearage, so they can "claim" they increased collections and get federal incentive dollars. I pay with a check, send payment certified with return receipt, reconcile my record with the date that my check was cashed by their bank. I keep all of this in an excel spreadsheet. While speaking to the OCSE caseworker/drone she indicated that next year they would try to intercept the retro-active arrearages. I asked her why, when I was making the payments as scheduled. She indicated that it was because by the court order it would take too long to pay it off. == In our case, the refund (which is actually quite rare for us) was intercepted as long as there were unpaid arrears regardless of whether we were complying with a court ordered repayment plan. Except once--I filed for an extension. After that, the IRS sent me a letter that there was an error on the return and that we owed them about a grand. It was a year that I 'd had an accident and was disabled. I didn't feel like pulling all my business records for the prior year, so I sent in a very conservative return. When I got the letter from the IRS, I told them I would be sending a new return with all my business losses properly claimed. I did that and it turned out that we were owed a $2000. refund. I lamented to my husband that it would go to the ex anyway (we'd had an intercept notice). Imagine our delight when we got the check a few weeks later. Yep--they sent it to us :-). I'm not sure what factors precipitated us getting the refund but we surely got it. I guess delay then errors--who knows? (More Below) == My first thought was to decrease my withholding to prevent an intercept, however if I did that I would end up owing taxes and increase my income, warranting a modification. == Not if you decreased it as much as needed to "break even." There is an IRS worksheet to help you calculate the correct withholding. == Apparently these fools can do anything they wish with impunity. == That they do. == I plan on using the tax tip for unwed fathers this year. My question is, if I have a refund due can I check the box that says apply my refund towards next years taxes thereby preventing an unlawful interception. and if I can may I do this several years (4 more) in a row? If anyone has any tips for dealing with the OCSE Nazi's I'd really appreciate it. I enjoy reading what the regulars have to say, and I plan to post more in the future. == Watch out for the trolls. They like it here. == TIA for replies == You're welcome :-) == == |
#5
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Tax Intercept
"agrich" wrote in message hlink.net... Hello, I have been lurking here on and off since 97' == You've been lurking since 97 and this is your first post? Gawd--How on earth were you able to keep your mouth shut that long? You must have a gift ;-) (More below) == History: Paternity suit victim, child 14 years old. State of Arkansas. Stipulated to paternity after DNA testing 6 months ago. Mother awarded 5 years retro-active support. Retro support to be paid weekly in addition to current support. Fines, fees and testing cost awarded to state. Fines, fees and testing were paid off in allotted 6 months. Current and retro support paid 2 weeks in advance thru child support clearinghouse. Got a pre-tax intercept notice in OCT ($230.00). Wrote letter to local OCSE requesting admin hearing, They did not answer. === Did you send it certified, return receipt requested? All correspondence should be in writing/certified mail. Never communicate important issues by phone. === called after 14 days, they could not explain how the came up with the amount. I requested that they send me something in writing, 10 days past and I then wrote them another letter requesting that they explain how they came up with the arrearages and if they were going to certify the debt or not. Still no answer. Should I write my congressman or governor? or both? == In FL., official communications re CS cases are handled by the circuit clerk. The circuit clerk is also responsible for the official accounting on CS cases. If that is the case in Arkansas, your communications need to go there--not CS enforcement. You need to find out who the official recordkeeper is. You have a right to an accounting. (More Below) == While the amount is small, a capture will just screw things up. and besides I feel they are making me out to be a deadbeat, I have perfect payment record. That's what really sucks. I think they are not crediting my payments in a timely manner, creating a FALSE arrearage, so they can "claim" they increased collections and get federal incentive dollars. I pay with a check, send payment certified with return receipt, reconcile my record with the date that my check was cashed by their bank. I keep all of this in an excel spreadsheet. While speaking to the OCSE caseworker/drone she indicated that next year they would try to intercept the retro-active arrearages. I asked her why, when I was making the payments as scheduled. She indicated that it was because by the court order it would take too long to pay it off. == In our case, the refund (which is actually quite rare for us) was intercepted as long as there were unpaid arrears regardless of whether we were complying with a court ordered repayment plan. Except once--I filed for an extension. After that, the IRS sent me a letter that there was an error on the return and that we owed them about a grand. It was a year that I 'd had an accident and was disabled. I didn't feel like pulling all my business records for the prior year, so I sent in a very conservative return. When I got the letter from the IRS, I told them I would be sending a new return with all my business losses properly claimed. I did that and it turned out that we were owed a $2000. refund. I lamented to my husband that it would go to the ex anyway (we'd had an intercept notice). Imagine our delight when we got the check a few weeks later. Yep--they sent it to us :-). I'm not sure what factors precipitated us getting the refund but we surely got it. I guess delay then errors--who knows? (More Below) == My first thought was to decrease my withholding to prevent an intercept, however if I did that I would end up owing taxes and increase my income, warranting a modification. == Not if you decreased it as much as needed to "break even." There is an IRS worksheet to help you calculate the correct withholding. == Apparently these fools can do anything they wish with impunity. == That they do. == I plan on using the tax tip for unwed fathers this year. My question is, if I have a refund due can I check the box that says apply my refund towards next years taxes thereby preventing an unlawful interception. and if I can may I do this several years (4 more) in a row? If anyone has any tips for dealing with the OCSE Nazi's I'd really appreciate it. I enjoy reading what the regulars have to say, and I plan to post more in the future. == Watch out for the trolls. They like it here. == TIA for replies == You're welcome :-) == == |
#6
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Tax Intercept
Bob Whiteside wrote:
Taxes - You mentioned the tax tip, and I'll assume that means you know as a never married father you have the right to take the child as an exemption if you meet the IRS test of paying more than 50% of the defined expenses. Also, I would recommend adjusting your withholding exemptions so you have a small tax to pay at the end of each year. That way there is no tax refund to intercept. As long as you pay 90% (IIRC) of the tax due, there is no penalty for underpaying taxes due through withholding. You can also do what you suggested, i.e. apply any refund to your next year's taxes due, and that will protect any refund from being intercepted. If a person owed the money, and didn't need the tax refund, wouldn't it be better to let them take it, thus reducing the balance and interest and paying it off sooner? |
#7
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Tax Intercept
Bob Whiteside wrote:
Taxes - You mentioned the tax tip, and I'll assume that means you know as a never married father you have the right to take the child as an exemption if you meet the IRS test of paying more than 50% of the defined expenses. Also, I would recommend adjusting your withholding exemptions so you have a small tax to pay at the end of each year. That way there is no tax refund to intercept. As long as you pay 90% (IIRC) of the tax due, there is no penalty for underpaying taxes due through withholding. You can also do what you suggested, i.e. apply any refund to your next year's taxes due, and that will protect any refund from being intercepted. If a person owed the money, and didn't need the tax refund, wouldn't it be better to let them take it, thus reducing the balance and interest and paying it off sooner? |
#8
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Tax Intercept
"The DaveŠ" wrote in message ... Bob Whiteside wrote: Taxes - You mentioned the tax tip, and I'll assume that means you know as a never married father you have the right to take the child as an exemption if you meet the IRS test of paying more than 50% of the defined expenses. Also, I would recommend adjusting your withholding exemptions so you have a small tax to pay at the end of each year. That way there is no tax refund to intercept. As long as you pay 90% (IIRC) of the tax due, there is no penalty for underpaying taxes due through withholding. You can also do what you suggested, i.e. apply any refund to your next year's taxes due, and that will protect any refund from being intercepted. If a person owed the money, and didn't need the tax refund, wouldn't it be better to let them take it, thus reducing the balance and interest and paying it off sooner? Of course, but the OP's concern was he had a legal agreement to repay the arrearage and I understood him to say the CS caseworker was of the opinion the repayment agreement wouldn't payoff the arrearage fast enough. If the OP has extra money, he can always send in more than the agreed to amount in any given month to pay of the arrearage faster. As a side note, tax intercepts also apply in a broader sense to things like state kicker checks, federal tax rebates, and any other return of money to the taxpayer. So in my state, where the state legislature raised state taxes to take the future federal tax reductions, the NCP's had their rebate seized for back CS this year and the state has seized all future tax reductions that could have been used for paying CS to fund the state budget. |
#9
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Tax Intercept
"The DaveŠ" wrote in message ... Bob Whiteside wrote: Taxes - You mentioned the tax tip, and I'll assume that means you know as a never married father you have the right to take the child as an exemption if you meet the IRS test of paying more than 50% of the defined expenses. Also, I would recommend adjusting your withholding exemptions so you have a small tax to pay at the end of each year. That way there is no tax refund to intercept. As long as you pay 90% (IIRC) of the tax due, there is no penalty for underpaying taxes due through withholding. You can also do what you suggested, i.e. apply any refund to your next year's taxes due, and that will protect any refund from being intercepted. If a person owed the money, and didn't need the tax refund, wouldn't it be better to let them take it, thus reducing the balance and interest and paying it off sooner? Of course, but the OP's concern was he had a legal agreement to repay the arrearage and I understood him to say the CS caseworker was of the opinion the repayment agreement wouldn't payoff the arrearage fast enough. If the OP has extra money, he can always send in more than the agreed to amount in any given month to pay of the arrearage faster. As a side note, tax intercepts also apply in a broader sense to things like state kicker checks, federal tax rebates, and any other return of money to the taxpayer. So in my state, where the state legislature raised state taxes to take the future federal tax reductions, the NCP's had their rebate seized for back CS this year and the state has seized all future tax reductions that could have been used for paying CS to fund the state budget. |
#10
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Tax Intercept
"agrich" wrote in message
hlink.net... Hello, I have been lurking here on and off since 97' History: Paternity suit victim, child 14 years old. State of Arkansas. Stipulated to paternity after DNA testing 6 months ago. Mother awarded 5 years retro-active support. Retro support to be paid weekly in addition to current support. Fines, fees and testing cost awarded to state. Fines, fees and testing were paid off in allotted 6 months. Current and retro support paid 2 weeks in advance thru child support clearinghouse. Got a pre-tax intercept notice in OCT ($230.00). Wrote letter to local OCSE requesting admin hearing, They did not answer. called after 14 days, they could not explain how the came up with the amount. I requested that they send me something in writing, 10 days past and I then wrote them another letter requesting that they explain how they came up with the arrearages and if they were going to certify the debt or not. Still no answer. Should I write my congressman or governor? or both? While the amount is small, a capture will just screw things up. and besides I feel they are making me out to be a deadbeat, I have perfect payment record. That's what really sucks. Somehow they put a flag on your account showing you owe back support. At this time it doesn't matter *how* it happened, but the fact that they clear this mess up with the federal government. Give them a call tomorrow and request verification they have removed that flag, then contact the IRS department and explain to them there must be some sort of problem - because you *don't* owe back support. Ask the IRS what you need to provide them to show you don't owe back support. Record who you spoke with, exact date & times, etc. If this doesn't get cleared up (with verification) within a few weeks, then yes email your congressman. Good luck, Tracy ~~~~~~~ http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/ "You can't solve problems with the same type of thinking that created them." Albert Einstein *** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net *** |
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