Update: The 3rd COVID relief package (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) has been signed and payments are being delivered. Congress exempted child support arrearages from the stimulus checks. This means parents who owe overdue child support will not have their stimulus checks intercepted and given to the other parent as a payment towards the overdue child support. Read on below for more information, which was published before the final 3rd package was passed and signed by President Biden.
The federal government has issued two separate COVID relief packages since the pandemic began. Now there are talks of a 3rd package being just around the corner, but how does this relate to child support?
Under the first COVID relief package termed the CARES Act, Congress allowed states to garnish, in-full or in-part, the first stimulus check if a parent owed more than $150 in child support. The result was some happy and not so happy parents depending on which side of the spectrum they fell.
Can the government intercept my stimulus check and give it to my ex?
Federal law requires state child support agencies to enact procedures that will catch and collect past-due child support from federal tax refunds. This means that if a parent is not current on their child support obligations and qualifies for a tax refund, the state child support agency will intercept the refund money from the IRS and re-route it to the parent who is owed child support. In Arizona, the state agency who oversees this process is the Department of Child Support Services (“DCSS”).
The DCSS routinely intercepts tax refunds from parents who owe child support and did so with the CARES Act stimulus check. However, when crafting the second round of relief package Congress expressly included language in the bill that prevented state agencies from taking any amount from the stimulus check based on child support arrears.
Will my 3rd stimulus check be intercepted?
The 3rd round of stimulus COVID relief has just started to formulate but there has been some talk regarding child support payments. The latest proposal shows that Congress is intending on keeping the language that would prevent state agencies from grabbing the upcoming stimulus check. Stay tuned to see what is included in the 3rd package if you are wondering whether your stimulus check will be intercepted based on child support arrears.
For more information click here for a FAQs created by the Maricopa County Superior Court.
