42 U.S.C. § 664 — Collection of past-due support from Fed-

Page 2334 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 664 Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–300, § 11(2), substituted ‘‘under subsection (a), (b), or (e)’’ for ‘‘under this section’’. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–300, § 11(3), added subsec. (e). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1997 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 105–33 effective as if included in the enactment of title III of the Personal Responsi- bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104–193, see section 5557 of Pub. L. 105–33, set out as a note under section 608 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 104–193, see section 395(a)–(c) of Pub. L. 104–193, set out as a note under section 654 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1994 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 103–432, title II, § 214(c), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4461, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on Oc- tober 1, 1995.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 96–611, § 9(d), Dec. 28, 1980, 94 Stat. 3573, pro- vided that: ‘‘No agreement entered into under section 463 of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 663] shall be- come effective before the date on which section 1738A of title 28, United States Code (as added by this title [probably should be ‘‘as added by section 8(a) of this Act’’]) becomes effective.’’ § 664. Collection of past-due support from Fed- eral tax refunds (a) Procedures applicable; distribution (1) Upon receiving notice from a State agency administering a plan approved under this part that a named individual owes past-due support which has been assigned to such State pursuant to section 608(a)(3) or section 671(a)(17) of this title, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deter- mine whether any amounts, as refunds of Fed- eral taxes paid, are payable to such individual (regardless of whether such individual filed a tax return as a married or unmarried individual). If the Secretary of the Treasury finds that any such amount is payable, he shall withhold from such refunds an amount equal to the past-due support, shall concurrently send notice to such individual that the withholding has been made (including in or with such notice a notification to any other person who may have filed a joint return with such individual of the steps which such other person may take in order to secure his or her proper share of the refund), and shall pay such amount to the State agency (together with notice of the individual’s home address) for distribution in accordance with section 657 of this title. This subsection may be executed by the disbursing official of the Department of the Treasury. (2)(A) Upon receiving notice from a State agency administering a plan approved under this part that a named individual owes past-due sup- port which such State has agreed to collect under paragraph (4)(A)(ii) or (32) of section 654 of this title, and that the State agency has sent notice to such individual in accordance with paragraph (3)(A), the Secretary of the Treasury shall determine whether any amounts, as re- funds of Federal taxes paid, are payable to such individual (regardless of whether such individual filed a tax return as a married or unmarried in- dividual). If the Secretary of the Treasury finds that any such amount is payable, he shall with- hold from such refunds an amount equal to such past-due support, and shall concurrently send notice to such individual that the withholding has been made, including in or with such notice a notification to any other person who may have filed a joint return with such individual of the steps which such other person may take in order to secure his or her proper share of the refund. The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay the amount withheld to the State agency, and the State shall pay to the Secretary of the Treasury any fee imposed by the Secretary of the Treas- ury to cover the costs of the withholding and any required notification. The State agency shall, subject to paragraph (3)(B), distribute such amount to or on behalf of the child to whom the support was owed in accordance with section 657 of this title. This subsection may be executed by the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury or his designee. (B) This paragraph shall apply only with re- spect to refunds payable under section 6402 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after Decem- ber 31, 1985. (3)(A) Prior to notifying the Secretary of the Treasury under paragraph (1) or (2) that an indi- vidual owes past-due support, the State shall send notice to such individual that a with- holding will be made from any refund otherwise payable to such individual. The notice shall also (i) instruct the individual owing the past-due support of the steps which may be taken to con- test the State’s determination that past-due support is owed or the amount of the past-due support, and (ii) provide information, as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services by regulation in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to procedures to be followed, in the case of a joint return, to protect the share of the refund which may be payable to another person. (B) If the Secretary of the Treasury deter- mines that an amount should be withheld under paragraph (1) or (2), and that the refund from which it should be withheld is based upon a joint return, the Secretary of the Treasury shall no- tify the State that the withholding is being made from a refund based upon a joint return, and shall furnish to the State the names and ad- dresses of each taxpayer filing such joint return. In the case of a withholding under paragraph (2), the State may delay distribution of the amount withheld until the State has been notified by the Secretary of the Treasury that the other person filing the joint return has received his or her proper share of the refund, but such delay may not exceed six months. (C) If the other person filing the joint return with the named individual owing the past-due support takes appropriate action to secure his or her proper share of a refund from which a with- holding was made under paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay such share to such other person. The Secretary of the Treasury shall deduct the amount of such pay- ment from amounts subsequently payable to the State agency to which the amount originally withheld from such refund was paid. Page 2335 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 664 (D) In any case in which an amount was with- held under paragraph (1) or (2) and paid to a State, and the State subsequently determines that the amount certified as past-due support was in excess of the amount actually owed at the time the amount withheld is to be distrib- uted to or on behalf of the child, the State shall pay the excess amount withheld to the named individual thought to have owed the past-due support (or, in the case of amounts withheld on the basis of a joint return, jointly to the parties filing such return). (b) Regulations; contents, etc. (1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue regulations, approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, prescribing the time or times at which States must submit no- tices of past-due support, the manner in which such notices must be submitted, and the nec- essary information that must be contained in or accompany the notices. The regulations shall be consistent with the provisions of subsection (a)(3), shall specify the minimum amount of past-due support to which the offset procedure established by subsection (a) may be applied, and the fee that a State must pay to reimburse the Secretary of the Treasury for the full cost of applying the offset procedure, and shall provide that the Secretary of the Treasury will advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services, not less frequently than annually, of the States which have furnished notices of past-due support under subsection (a), the number of cases in each State with respect to which such notices have been furnished, the amount of support sought to be collected under this subsection by each State, and the amount of such collections actually made in the case of each State. Any fee paid to the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to this subsection may be used to reimburse ap- propriations which bore all or part of the cost of applying such procedure. (2) In the case of withholdings made under subsection (a)(2), the regulations promulgated pursuant to this subsection shall include the fol- lowing requirements: (A) The withholding shall apply only in the case where the State determines that the amount of the past-due support which will be owed at the time the withholding is to be made, based upon the pattern of payment of support and other enforcement actions being pursued to collect the past-due support, is equal to or greater than $500. The State may limit the $500 threshold amount to amounts of past-due support accrued since the time that the State first began to enforce the child sup- port order involved under the State plan, and may limit the application of the withholding to past-due support accrued since such time. (B) The fee which the Secretary of the Treasury may impose to cover the costs of the withholding and notification may not exceed $25 per case submitted. (c) ‘‘Past-due support’’ defined In this part the term ‘‘past-due support’’ means the amount of a delinquency, determined under a court order, or an order of an adminis- trative process established under State law, for support and maintenance of a child (whether or not a minor), or of a child (whether or not a minor) and the parent with whom the child is living. (d) Applicability to Indian tribes and tribal orga- nizations receiving a grant under this part This section, except for the requirement to distribute amounts in accordance with section 657 of this title, shall apply to an Indian tribe or tribal organization receiving a grant under sec- tion 655(f) of this title in the same manner in which this section applies to a State with a plan approved under this part. (Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 464, as added Pub. L. 97–35, title XXIII, § 2331(a), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 860; amended Pub. L. 98–378, §§ 11(d), 21(a)–(c), Aug. 16, 1984, 98 Stat. 1318, 1322–1324; Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, title XVIII, § 1883(b)(8), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095, 2917; Pub. L. 101–508, title V, § 5011(a), (b), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–220; Pub. L. 104–134, title III, § 31001(v)(2), Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321–375; Pub. L. 104–193, title III, § 302(b)(1), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2204; Pub. L. 105–33, title V, §§ 5513(a)(4), 5531(b), 5532(i)(1), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 620, 626, 627; Pub. L. 109–171, title VII, § 7301(f)(1), Feb. 8, 2006, 120 Stat. 144; Pub. L. 113–183, title III, § 301(e), Sept. 29, 2014, 128 Stat. 1944; Pub. L. 118–258, title II, § 202(a)(1), Jan. 4, 2025, 138 Stat. 2970.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in sub- sec. (a)(2)(B), is classified generally to Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. AMENDMENTS 2025—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 118–258 added subsec. (d). 2014—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 113–183 substituted ‘‘under paragraph (4)(A)(ii) or (32) of section 654’’ for ‘‘under section 654(4)(A)(ii)’’. 2006—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 109–171, § 7301(f)(1)(A), struck out ‘‘(as that term is defined for purposes of this paragraph under subsection (c) of this section)’’ after ‘‘owes past-due support’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–171, § 7301(f)(1)(B), substituted ‘‘In this part’’ for ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), as used in this part’’, inserted ‘‘(whether or not a minor)’’ after ‘‘a child’’ in two places, and struck out pars. (2) and (3) defining ‘‘past-due support’’ and ‘‘quali- fied child’’, respectively. 1997—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 105–33, § 5513(a)(4), sub- stituted ‘‘section 608(a)(3)’’ for ‘‘section 602(a)(26)’’. Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 105–33, § 5531(b), substituted ‘‘section 654(4)(A)(ii)’’ for ‘‘section 654(6)’’ in first sen- tence. Pub. L. 105–33, § 5532(i)(1), inserted ‘‘in accordance with section 657 of this title’’ after ‘‘owed’’ in penul- timate sentence. 1996—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 104–134, § 31001(v)(2)(1), in- serted at end ‘‘This subsection may be executed by the disbursing official of the Department of the Treasury.’’ Pub. L. 104–193 substituted ‘‘section 657’’ for ‘‘section 657(b)(4) or (d)(3)’’. Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 104–134, § 31001(v)(2)(2), in- serted at end ‘‘This subsection may be executed by the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury or his des- ignee.’’ 1990—Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 101–508, § 5011(a), struck out ‘‘, and before January 1, 1991’’ after ‘‘1985’’. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 101–508, § 5011(b)(1), substituted ‘‘qualified child (or a qualified child and the parent with whom the child is living if the same support order includes support for the child and the parent)’’ for ‘‘minor child’’. Page 2336 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 665 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘section’’. 2 See References in Text note below. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 101–508, § 5011(b)(2), added par. (3). 1986—Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, substituted ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1986’’ for ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1954’’. Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 99–514, § 1883(b)(8), sub- stituted ‘‘threshold’’ for ‘‘threshhold’’. 1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–378, § 21(a), (b)(1), des- ignated existing provisions as par. (1), substituted ‘‘shall concurrently send notice to such individual that the withholding has been made (including in or with such notice a notification to any other person who may have filed a joint return with such individual of the steps which such other person may take in order to se- cure his or her proper share of the refund), and shall pay’’ for ‘‘and pay’’, and added pars. (2) and (3). Pub. L. 98–378, § 11(d), inserted ‘‘or section 671(a)(17)’’ and substituted ‘‘section 657(b)(4) or (d)(3)’’ for ‘‘section 657(b)(3)’’. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 98–378, § 21(b)(2), designated ex- isting provisions as par. (1), substituted ‘‘The regula- tions shall be consistent with the provisions of sub- section (a)(3), shall specify’’ for ‘‘The regulations shall specify’’, substituted ‘‘and shall provide’’ for ‘‘and pro- vide’’, inserted provision that any fee paid to the Sec- retary of the Treasury pursuant to subsec. (b) may be used to reimburse appropriations which bore all or part of the cost of applying such procedure, and added par. (2). Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 98–378, § 21(c), designated exist- ing provisions as par. (1), inserted reference to par. (2), and added par. (2). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2006 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 109–171, title VII, § 7301(f)(2), Feb. 8, 2006, 120 Stat. 145, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] shall take effect on October 1, 2007.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1997 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 5513(a)(4) of Pub. L. 105–33 ef- fective as if included in section 108 of the Personal Re- sponsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104–193, at the time such section 108 be- came law, see section 5518(b) of Pub. L. 105–33, set out as a note under section 652 of this title. Amendment by sections 5531(b) and 5532(i)(1) of Pub. L. 105–33 effective as if included in the enactment of title III of the Personal Responsibility and Work Op- portunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104–193, see section 5557 of Pub. L. 105–33, set out as a note under section 608 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–193 effective Oct. 1, 1996, or earlier at the State’s option, see section 302(c) of Pub. L. 104–193, set out as a note under section 657 of this title. For provisions relating to effective date of title III of Pub. L. 104–193, see section 395(a)–(c) of Pub. L. 104–193, set out as a note under section 654 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 101–508, title V, § 5011(c), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–220, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by sub- section (b) [amending this section] shall take effect on January 1, 1991.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 11(d) of Pub. L. 98–378 effec- tive Oct. 1, 1984, and applicable to collections made on or after that date, see section 11(e) of Pub. L. 98–378, set out as a note under section 654 of this title. Amendment by section 21(a)–(c) of Pub. L. 98–378 ap- plicable with respect to refunds payable under section 6402 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code, after Dec. 31, 1985, see section 21(g) of Pub. L. 98–378, set out as a note under section 6103 of Title 26. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1981, except as otherwise spe- cifically provided, see section 2336 of Pub. L. 97–35, set out as an Effective Date of 1981 Amendment note under section 651 of this title. § 665. Allotments from pay for child and spousal support owed by members of uniformed serv- ices on active duty (a) Mandatory allotment; notice upon failure to make; amount of allotment; adjustment or discontinuance; consultation (1) In any case in which child support pay- ments or child and spousal support payments are owed by a member of one of the uniformed services (as defined in section 101(3) of title 37) on active duty, such member shall be required to make allotments from his pay and allowances (under chapter 13 of title 37) as payment of such support, when he has failed to make periodic payments under a support order that meets the criteria specified in section 1673(b)(1)(A) of title 15 and the resulting delinquency in such pay- ments is in a total amount equal to the support payable for two months or longer. Failure to make such payments shall be established by no- tice from an authorized person (as defined in subsection (b)) to the designated official in the appropriate uniformed service. Such notice (which shall in turn be given to the affected member) shall also specify the person to whom the allotment is to be payable. The amount of the allotment shall be the amount necessary to comply with the order (which, if the order so provides, may include arrearages as well as amounts for current support), except that the amount of the allotment, together with any other amounts withheld for support from the wages of the member, as a percentage of his pay from the uniformed service, shall not exceed the limits prescribed in sections 1 1673(b) and (c) of title 15. An allotment under this subsection shall be adjusted or discontinued upon notice from the authorized person. (2) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, no action shall be taken to require an allotment from the pay and allow- ances of any member of one of the uniformed services under such provisions (A) until such member has had a consultation with a judge ad- vocate of the service involved (as defined in sec- tion 801(13) of title 10), or with a judge advocate (as defined in section 801(11) 2 of such title) in the case of the Coast Guard, or with a legal offi- cer designated by the Secretary concerned (as defined in section 101(5) of title 37) in any other case, in person, to discuss the legal and other factors involved with respect to the member’s support obligation and his failure to make pay- ments thereon, or (B) until 30 days have elapsed after the notice described in the second sentence of paragraph (1) is given to the affected member in any case where it has not been possible, de-