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ELECTRONIC CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS
e-CFR data is current as of June 18, 2019
Title 31 → Subtitle B → Chapter II → Subchapter A → Part 285
Title 31: Money and Finance: Treasury
PART 285—DEBT COLLECTION AUTHORITIES UNDER THE DEBT COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1996
Contents
Subpart A—Disbursing Official Offset
§285.1
§285.2
§285.3
§285.4
§285.5
§285.6
§285.7
§285.8
Collection of past-due support by administrative offset.
Offset of tax refund payments to collect past-due, legally enforceable nontax debt.
Offset of tax refund payments to collect past-due support.
Offset of Federal benefit payments to collect past-due, legally enforceable nontax debt.
Centralized offset of Federal payments to collect nontax debts owed to the United States.
Administrative offset under reciprocal agreements with states.
Salary offset.
Offset of tax refund payments to collect certain debts owed to States.
Subpart B—Authorities Other Than Offset
§285.11 Administrative wage garnishment.
§285.12 Transfer of debts to Treasury for collection.
§285.13 Barring delinquent debtors from obtaining Federal loans or loan insurance or guarantees.
A
: 5 U.S.C. 5514; 26 U.S.C. 6402; 31 U.S.C. 321, 3701, 3711, 3716, 3719, 3720A, 3720B, 3720D; 42 U.S.C. 664; E.O. 13019, 61 FR
51763, 3 CFR, 1996 Comp., p. 216.
S
: 62 FR 34179, June 25, 1997, unless otherwise noted.
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Subpart A—Disbursing Official Offset
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§285.1 Collection of past-due support by administrative offset.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
Administrative offset means withholding funds payable by the United States (including funds payable by the United States
on behalf of a State government) to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a debt.
Debt as used in this section is synonymous with the term past-due support.
Disbursing official includes an official who has authority to disburse public money pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3321 or another
Federal law.
Fiscal Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury. Fiscal Service is the
designee of the Secretary of the Treasury for all matters concerning this section, unless otherwise specified.
HHS means the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement.
Past-due support means the amount of support determined under a court order, or an order of an administrative procedure
established under State law, for support and maintenance of a child, or of a child and the parent with whom the child is living,
which has not been paid. The term child as used in this definition is not limited to minor children.
Past-due support being enforced by the State means there has been an assignment of the support rights to the State, or
the State making the request for offset is providing services to individuals pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 654(5) (section 454(5) of the
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Social Security Act), or the State is enforcing support pursuant to a cooperative agreement with or by an Indian tribal
government.
State means the several States of the United States. The term State also includes the District of Columbia, American
Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico.
Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury.
(b) General rule. Fiscal Service may enter into a reciprocal agreement with a State for the collection of past-due support
being enforced by the State by administrative offset from certain Federal payments. Upon notification of past-due support either
directly from a State which has entered into such an agreement or from HHS, disbursing officials of Fiscal Service or any other
disbursing official of the United States shall offset Federal payments which are subject to offset under this section, to collect
past-due support. The amount offset, minus the offset fee, shall be forwarded to the State to be distributed in accordance with
applicable laws and procedures.
(c) Agreements. Fiscal Service may enter into reciprocal agreements with States for disbursing officials of Fiscal Service
and any other Federal disbursing official to offset certain Federal payments to collect past-due support being enforced by the
State. The agreement shall contain any requirements which Fiscal Service considers appropriate to facilitate the offset and
prevent duplicative efforts and shall require States to prescribe procedures governing the collection of past-due support by
Federal administrative offset. For purposes of this section, reciprocal means of mutual benefit. An agreement between Fiscal
Service and a State to collect past-due support by offsetting Federal payments will be considered of mutual benefit and it is not
required that States conduct administrative offsets to collect debts owed to the Federal Government. States which have entered
into an agreement with Fiscal Service pursuant to this section may thereafter request, in the manner prescribed herein, that an
offset be performed. Such requests shall be made by the appropriate State disbursing official which, for purposes of this
section, means an appropriate official of the State agency which administers or supervises the administration of the State plan
under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.
(d) Notification to Fiscal Service of past-due support. (1) States notifying Fiscal Service of past-due support must do so in
the manner and format prescribed by Fiscal Service. States notifying HHS of past-due support must do so in the manner and
format prescribed by HHS. HHS shall notify Fiscal Service of all past-due support referred to HHS by States for collection by
administrative offset provided that the requirements of paragraphs (d)(3) and (h) of this section have been met.
(2) When a State has knowledge that past-due support is being enforced by more than one State, the State notifying Fiscal
Service or HHS of the past-due support must inform any other State involved in enforcing the past-due support when it refers
the debt for offset and when it receives the offset amount.
(3) The notification of past-due support must be accompanied by a certification that the debt is past-due, legally
enforceable, and that the State has complied with all the requirements as set forth in paragraph (h) of this section and with any
requirements imposed by State law or procedure. For debts so certified, the Secretary may waive sections 552a (o) and (p) of
Title 5, United States Code, where applicable, in accordance with the Secretary's authority under 31 U.S.C. 3716(f).
(4) Fiscal Service may reject a notification of past-due support which does not comply with the requirements of this section.
The State will be notified of the rejection along with the reason for the rejection.
(e) Minimum amount of past-due support. Fiscal Service will reject a notification of past-due support where the past-due
support owed is less than $25.00. This amount may be adjusted from time to time by Fiscal Service to ensure that the cost of
collection does not exceed the debt.
(f) Limitations. Debts properly submitted to Fiscal Service for administrative offset will remain subject to collection by
administrative offset until withdrawn by the State provided the debt remains past-due and legally enforceable.
(g) Notification of changes in status of debt. The State notifying Fiscal Service or HHS of past-due support shall, in the
manner and in the time frames provided by Fiscal Service or HHS, notify Fiscal Service or HHS of deletions or decreases in the
amount of a debt referred for collection by administrative offset. The State may notify Fiscal Service or HHS of any increases in
the amount of a debt referred for collection by administrative offset provided the State has complied with the requirements of
paragraph (h) of this section with regard to those amounts.
(h) Advance notification of intent to collect by administrative offset. (1) The State, or Fiscal Service or HHS on behalf of the
State, if the State requests and Fiscal Service or HHS agrees, shall send a written notification, at least 30 days in advance of
referral of the debt for offset, to the individual owing past-due support, informing the individual that the State intends to refer the
debt for collection by administrative offset against Federal payments. The notice must also inform the individual of:
(i) The nature and amount of the debt; and
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(ii) The right to an administrative review by the State referring the debt or, upon the request of the individual, by the State
with the order upon which the referral was based, of the determination of the State with respect to the debt and of the
procedures and time frames established by the State for such reviews.
(2) Prior to referring a debt to Fiscal Service for collection by administrative offset, States must provide individuals with a
reasonable opportunity to exercise the rights enumerated in paragraph (h)(1) of this section in accordance with procedures
prescribed by the State.
(i) Payments subject to offset. Federal payments subject to offset under this section include all Federal payments except:
(1) Payments due to an individual under
(i) Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965;
(ii) The Social Security Act;
(iii) Part B of the Black Lung Benefits Act;
(iv) Any law administered by the Railroad Retirement Board;
(2) Payments which the Secretary determines are exempt from offset in accordance with paragraph (k) of this section;
(3) Payments from which collection of past-due support by administrative offset is expressly prohibited by law;
(4) Payments made under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (except that tax refund payments are subject to offset under
separate authority); and
(5) Payments made under the tariff laws of the United States.
(j) Special provisions applicable to Federal salary payments. (1) Unless a lower maximum offset limitation is provided by
applicable State law, the maximum part of a Federal salary payment per pay period subject to offset to collect past-due support
shall not exceed those amounts set forth at section 1673(b)(2) (A) and (B) of Title 15, United States Code, as follows:
(i) Fifty (50%) percent of the debtor's aggregate disposable earnings for any pay period, where the debtor asserts by
affidavit, or by other acceptable evidence, that he/she is supporting a spouse and/or dependent child, other than the former
spouse and/or child for whom support is being collected, except that an additional five (5%) percent will apply if it appears that
such earnings are to enforce past-due support for a period which is twelve (12) weeks or more prior to the pay period to which
the offset applies. A debtor shall be considered to be supporting a spouse and/or dependent child only if the debtor provides
over half of the spouse's and/or dependent child's support.
(ii) Sixty (60%) percent of the debtor's aggregate disposable earnings for any pay period where the debtor fails to assert by
affidavit or establish by other acceptable evidence that he/she is supporting a spouse and/or dependent child, other than a
former spouse and/or child for whom support is being collected, except that an additional five (5%) percent will apply if it
appears that such earnings are to enforce past-due support for a period which is twelve (12) weeks or more prior to the pay
period to which the offset applies.
(2) The maximum allowable offset amount shall be reduced by the amount of any deductions in pay resulting from a
garnishment order for support. Nothing in this rule is intended to alter rules applicable to processing garnishment orders for
child support and/or alimony.
(3) Federal salary payments subject to offset for the collection of past-due support include current basic pay, special pay,
incentive pay, retainer pay, overtime, or in the case of an employee not entitled to basic pay, other authorized pay. Aggregate
disposable earnings for purposes of determining the maximum amounts which may be offset under paragraph (j)(1) of this
section is Federal salary pay remaining after the deduction of:
(i) Any amount required by law to be withheld;
(ii) Amounts properly withheld for Federal, State or local income tax purposes;
(iii) Amounts deducted as health insurance premiums;
(iv) Amounts deducted as normal retirement contributions, not including amounts deducted for supplementary coverage;
and
(v) Amounts deducted as normal life insurance premiums not including amounts deducted for supplementary coverage.
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(4) At least 30 days in advance of offset, the disbursing official shall send written notice to the debtor of the maximum offset
limitations described in paragraph (j)(1) of this section. The notice shall include a request that the debtor submit supporting
affidavits or other documentation necessary to determine the applicable offset percentage limitation. The notice shall also
inform the debtor of the percentage that will be deducted if he/she fails to submit the requested documentation.
(5) At the time the past-due support debt is submitted for offset, the State shall advise Fiscal Service or HHS if the
maximum amount of a Federal salary payment that may be offset is less than the amount described under this paragraph.
(k) Payments exempt from administrative offset to collect past-due support being enforced by a State. The Secretary will
exempt from administrative offset under this part payments made under means-tested programs when requested by the head of
the Federal agency which administers the program. For purposes of this section, means-tested programs are programs for
which eligibility is based on a determination that income and/or assets of the beneficiary are inadequate to provide the
beneficiary with an adequate standard of living without program assistance. The Secretary may exempt from administrative
offset under this section any other class or type of payment upon the written request of the head of the agency which authorizes
the payments. In determining whether or not to grant such exemptions, the Secretary shall give due consideration to whether
administrative offset would tend to interfere substantially with or defeat the purposes of the payment agency's program.
(l) Fees. A fee which Fiscal Service has determined to be sufficient to reimburse Fiscal Service for the full cost of the offset
procedure, shall be deducted from each offset amount. Fiscal Service will notify the States, annually and in advance, of the
amount of the fee to be charged for each offset.
(m) Offsetting payments—(1) Conducting the offset. Disbursing officials of the Department of the Treasury, the Department
of Defense, the United States Postal Service, or any other Government corporation, any disbursing official of the United States
designated by the Secretary, or any disbursing official of an executive department or agency that disburses Federal payments
shall offset payments subject to offset under this section to satisfy, in whole or part, a debt owed by the payee. Disbursing
officials shall compare payment certification records with records of debts submitted to Fiscal Service for collection by
administrative offset. A match will occur when the taxpayer identifying number and name control of a payment record are the
same as the taxpayer identifying number and name control of a debt record. The taxpayer identifying number for an individual is
the individual's social security number. When a match occurs and all other requirements for offset have been met, the
disbursing official shall offset the payment to satisfy, in whole or part, the debt. Any amounts not offset shall be paid to the
payee. The amount that can be offset from a single payment is the lesser of the amount of the debt (including interest,
penalties, and administrative costs); the amount of the payment; or the amount of the payment available for offset if a statute or
regulation prohibits offset of the entire amount. Debts remain subject to collection by offset until paid in full.
(2) Disposition of amounts collected. Fiscal Service will transmit amounts collected for debts, less fees charged under
paragraph (l) of this section, to HHS or to the appropriate State. If Fiscal Service learns that an erroneous offset payment has
been made to HHS or any State, Fiscal Service will notify HHS or the appropriate State that an erroneous offset payment has
been made. Fiscal Service may deduct the amount of the erroneous offset payment from amounts payable to HHS or the State,
as the case may be. Alternatively, upon Fiscal Service' request, the State shall return promptly to the affected payee or Fiscal
Service an amount equal to the amount of the erroneous payment (unless the State previously has paid such amounts, or any
portion of such amounts, to the affected payee). HHS and States shall notify Fiscal Service any time HHS or a State returns an
erroneous offset payment to an affected payee. Fiscal Service and HHS, or the appropriate State, will adjust their debtor
records accordingly.
(n) Administrative offset priorities. (1) A levy pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall take precedence over
deductions under this section.
(2) Offsets will be applied first to past-due support being enforced by the State before any other offsets under this part.
(o) Notification of offset. (1) Disbursing officials of Fiscal Service or any other disbursing official which conducts an offset
will notify the payee in writing of the occurrence of the offset to satisfy past-due support. The notice shall inform the payee of
the type and amount of the payment that was offset; the identity of the State which requested the offset; and a contact point
within the State that will handle concerns regarding the offset. Disbursing officials shall not be liable for failure to provide this
notice.
(2) Disbursing officials of Fiscal Service or any other disbursing official which conducts an offset under this section will
share with HHS, upon request by the Secretary of HHS, information contained in payment certification records of persons who
are delinquent in child support obligations that would assist in the collection of such debts. When no offset is conducted,
disbursing officials of Fiscal Service or any other disbursing official, will provide such information to HHS to the extent such
information is available from offset activities conducted by Fiscal Service and other disbursing officials.
(p) Liability of disbursing officials and payment agencies. Neither the disbursing official nor the agency authorizing the
payment shall be liable for the amount of the administrative offset on the basis that the underlying obligation, represented by the
payment before the administrative offset was taken, was not satisfied. Disbursing officials will notify the agency authorizing the
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payment that the offset has occurred so that the agency authorizing the payment may direct any inquiries concerning the offset
to the appropriate State.
[62 FR 36210, July 7, 1997, as amended at 63 FR 46145, Aug. 28, 1998; 74 FR 27433, June 10, 2009]
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§285.2 Offset of tax refund payments to collect past-due, legally enforceable nontax debt.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
Creditor agency means a Federal agency owed a claim that seeks to collect that claim through tax refund offset.
Debt or claim refers to an amount of money, funds, or property which has been determined by an agency official to be due
the United States from any person, organization, or entity, except another Federal agency. For the purposes of this section, the
terms “claim” and “debt” are synonymous and interchangeable and includes debt administered by a third party acting as an
agent for the Federal Government.
Debtor means a person who owes a debt or claim. The term “person” includes any individual, organization or entity, except
another Federal agency.
Fiscal Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
IRS means the Internal Revenue Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
Tax refund offset means withholding or reducing a tax refund payment by an amount necessary to satisfy a debt owed by
the payee(s) of a tax refund payment.
Tax refund payment means any overpayment of Federal taxes to be refunded to the person making the overpayment after
the IRS makes the appropriate credits as provided in 26 U.S.C. 6402(a) and 26 CFR 6402-3(a)(6)(i) for any liabilities for any tax
on the part of the person who made the overpayment.
(b) General rule. (1) A Federal agency (as defined in 26 U.S.C. 6402(g)) that is owed by a person a past-due, legally
enforceable nontax debt shall notify Fiscal Service of the amount of such debt for collection by tax refund offset. However, any
agency subject to section 9 of the Act of May 18, 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831h) owed such a debt may, but is not required to, notify
Fiscal Service of the amount of such debt for collection by tax refund offset.
(2) Fiscal Service will compare tax refund payment records, as certified by the IRS, with records of debts submitted to
Fiscal Service. A match will occur when the taxpayer identifying number (as that term is used in 26 U.S.C. 6109) and name (or
derivation of the name, known as a “name control”) of a payment certification record are the same as the taxpayer identifying
number and name control of a debtor record. When a match occurs and all other requirements for tax refund offset have been
met, Fiscal Service will reduce the amount of any tax refund payment payable to a debtor by the amount of any past-due,
legally enforceable debt owed by the debtor. Any amounts not offset will be paid to the payee(s) listed in the payment
certification record.
(3) This section does not apply to any debt or claim arising under the Internal Revenue Code.
(4)(i) This section applies to Federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) overpayments provided the
requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3720A(f)(1) and (2) are met with respect to such overpayments.
(ii) For purposes of this section, OASDI overpayment means any overpayment of benefits made to an individual under title
II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.).
(5) A creditor agency is not precluded from using debt collection procedures, such as wage garnishment, to collect debts
that have been submitted to Fiscal Service for purposes of offset under this part. Such debt collection procedures may be used
separately or in conjunction with offset collection procedures.
(c) Regulations. Prior to submitting debts to Fiscal Service for collection by tax refund offset, Federal agencies shall
promulgate temporary or final regulations under 31 U.S.C. 3716 and 31 U.S.C. 3720A, governing the agencies' authority to
collect debts by administrative offset, in general, and offset of tax refund payments, in particular.
(d) Agency certification and referral of debt—(1) Past-due, legally enforceable debt eligible for tax refund offset. For
purposes of this section, when a Federal agency refers a past-due, legally enforceable debt to Fiscal Service for tax refund
offset, the agency will certify to Fiscal Service that:
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(i) The debt is past-due and legally enforceable in the amount submitted to Fiscal Service and that the agency will ensure
that collections are properly credited to the debt;
(ii) The creditor agency has made reasonable efforts to obtain payment of the debt in that the agency has:
(A) Submitted the debt to Fiscal Service for collection by administrative offset and complied with the provisions of 31 U.S.C.
3716(a) and related regulations, to the extent that collection of the debt by administrative offset is not prohibited by statute;
(B) Notified, or has made a reasonable attempt to notify, the debtor that the debt is past-due, and unless repaid within 60
days after the date of the notice, will be referred to Fiscal Service for tax refund offset;
(C) Given the debtor at least 60 days to present evidence that all or part of the debt is not past-due or legally enforceable,
considered any evidence presented by the debtor, and determined that the debt is past-due and legally enforceable; and
(D) Provided the debtor with an opportunity to make a written agreement to repay the amount of the debt;
(iii) The debt is at least $25; and
(iv) In the case of an OASDI overpayment—
(A) The individual is not currently entitled to monthly insurance benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
401 et seq.);
(B) The notice describes conditions under which the Commissioner of Social Security is required to waive recovery of the
overpayment, as provided under 42 U.S.C. 404(b); and
(C) If the debtor files a request for a waiver under 42 U.S.C. 404(b) within the 60-day notice period, the agency has
considered the debtor's request.
(2) Pre-offset notice and consideration of evidence for past-due, legally enforceable debt. (i) For purposes of paragraph (d)
(1)(iii)(B) of this section, a creditor agency has made a reasonable attempt to notify the debtor if the agency uses the current
address information contained in the agency's records related to the debt. Agencies may, but are not required to, obtain
address information from the IRS pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6103(m)(2), (4), or (5).
(ii) For purposes of paragraph (d)(1)(iii)(C) of this section, if the evidence presented by the debtor is considered by an
agent of the creditor agency, or other entities or persons acting on the agency's behalf, the debtor must be accorded at least 30
days from the date the agent or other entity or person determines that all or part of the debt is past-due and legally enforceable
to request review by an officer or employee of the agency of any unresolved dispute. The agency must then notify the debtor of
its decision.
(3) Referral of past-due, legally enforceable debt. A Federal agency will submit past-due, legally enforceable debt
information for tax refund offset to Fiscal Service in the time and manner prescribed by Fiscal Service. For each debt, the
creditor agency will include the following information:
(i) The name and taxpayer identifying number (as defined in 26 U.S.C. 6109) of the debtor who is responsible for the debt;
(ii) The amount of such past-due and legally enforceable debt;
(iii) The date on which the debt became past-due;
(iv) The designation of the Federal agency or subagency referring the debt; and
(v) In the case of an OASDI overpayment, a certification by the Commissioner of Social Security designating whether the
amount payable to the agency is to be deposited in either the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund or the
Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, but not both.
(4) Correcting and updating referral. If, after referring a past-due, legally enforceable debt to Fiscal Service as provided in
paragraph (d)(3) of this section, a creditor agency determines that an error has been made with respect to the information
transmitted to Fiscal Service, or if an agency receives a payment or credits a payment to the account of a debtor referred to
Fiscal Service for offset, or if the debt amount is otherwise incorrect, the agency shall promptly notify Fiscal Service and make
the appropriate correction of the agency's records. Creditor agencies will provide certification as required under paragraph (d)
(1) of this section for any increases to amounts owed.
(5) Fiscal Service may reject a certification which does not comply with the requirements of paragraph (d)(1) of this section.
Upon notification of the rejection and the reason for the rejection, a creditor agency may resubmit the debt with a corrected
certification.
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(6)(i) Creditor agencies may submit debts to Fiscal Service for collection by tax refund offset irrespective of the amount of
time the debt has been outstanding. Accordingly, all nontax debts, including debts that were delinquent for ten years or longer
prior to December 28, 2009 may be collected by tax refund offset.
(ii) For debts outstanding more than ten years on or before December 28, 2009, creditor agencies must certify to Fiscal
Service that the notice of intent to offset described in paragraph (d)(1)(ii)(B) of this section was sent to the debtor after the debt
became ten years delinquent. This requirement will apply even in a case where notice was also sent prior to the debt becoming
ten years delinquent, but does not apply to any debt that could be collected by offset without regard to any time limitation prior
to December 28, 2009.
(e) Post-offset notice to the debtor, the creditor agency, and the IRS. (1)(i) Fiscal Service will notify the payee(s) to whom
the tax refund payment is due, in writing of:
(A) The amount and date of the offset to satisfy a past-due, legally enforceable nontax debt;
(B) The creditor agency to which this amount has been paid or credited; and
(C) A contact point within the creditor agency that will handle concerns or questions regarding the offset.
(ii) The notice in paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section will also advise any non-debtor spouse who may have filed a joint tax
return with the debtor of the steps which a non-debtor spouse may take in order to secure his or her proper share of the tax
refund. See paragraph (f) of this section.
(2) Fiscal Service will advise each creditor agency of the names, mailing addresses, and identifying numbers of the debtors
from whom amounts of past-due, legally enforceable debt were collected and of the amounts collected from each debtor for that
agency. Fiscal Service will not advise the creditor agency of the source of payment from which such amounts were collected. If
a payment from which an amount of past-due, legally enforceable debt is to be withheld is payable to two individual payees,
Fiscal Service will notify the creditor agency and furnish the name and address of each payee to whom the payment was
payable.
(3) At least weekly, Fiscal Service will notify the IRS of the names and taxpayer identifying numbers of the debtors from
whom amounts of past-due, legally enforceable debt were collected and the amounts collected from each debtor.
(f) Offset made with regard to a tax refund payment based upon joint return. If the person filing a joint return with a debtor
owing the past-due, legally enforceable debt takes appropriate action to secure his or her proper share of a tax refund from
which an offset was made, the IRS will pay the person his or her share of the refund and request that Fiscal Service deduct that
amount from amounts payable to the creditor agency. Fiscal Service and the creditor agency will adjust their debtor records
accordingly.
(g) Disposition of amounts collected. Fiscal Service will transmit amounts collected for past-due, legally enforceable debts,
less fees charged under paragraph (h) of this section, to the creditor agency's account. If an erroneous payment is made to any
agency, Fiscal Service will notify the creditor agency that an erroneous payment has been made. The agency shall pay
promptly to Fiscal Service an amount equal to the amount of the erroneous payment (without regard to whether any other
amounts payable to such agency have been paid).
(h) Fees. The creditor agency will reimburse Fiscal Service and the IRS for the full cost of administering the tax refund
offset program. Fiscal Service will deduct the fees from amounts collected prior to disposition and transmit a portion of the fees
deducted to reimburse the IRS for its share of the cost of administering the tax refund offset program. To the extent allowed by
law, creditor agencies may add the offset fees to the debt.
(i) Review of tax refund offsets. Any reduction of a taxpayer's refund made pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6402(d) shall not be
subject to review by any court of the United States or by the Secretary of the Treasury, Fiscal Service or IRS in an
administrative proceeding. No action brought against the United States to recover the amount of this reduction shall be
considered to be a suit for refund of tax. Any legal, equitable, or administrative action by any person seeking to recover the
amount of the reduction of the overpayment must be taken against the Federal creditor agency to which the amount of the
reduction was paid. Any action which is otherwise available with respect to recoveries of overpayments of benefits under 42
U.S.C. 404 must be taken against the Commissioner of Social Security.
(j) Access to and use of confidential tax information. Access to and use of confidential tax information in connection with
the tax refund offset program are restricted by 26 U.S.C. 6103. Generally, agencies will not receive confidential tax information
from Fiscal Service. To the extent such information is received, agencies are subject to the safeguard, recordkeeping, and
reporting requirements of 26 U.S.C. 6103(p)(4) and the regulations thereunder. The agency shall inform its officers and
employees who access or use confidential tax information of the restrictions and penalties under the Internal Revenue Code for
misuse of confidential tax information.
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(k) Effective date. This section applies to tax refund payments payable under 26 U.S.C. 6402 after January 1, 1998.
[62 FR 34179, June 25, 1997, as amended at 74 FR 27433, June 10, 2009; 74 FR 68538, Dec. 28, 2009; 75 FR 746, Jan. 4, 2010]
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§285.3 Offset of tax refund payments to collect past-due support.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
Debt as used in this section is synonymous with the term past-due support unless otherwise indicated.
Debtor as used in this section means a person who owes past-due support.
Fiscal Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
HHS means the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement.
IRS means the Internal Revenue Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
Past-due support means the amount of support, determined under a court order, or an order of an administrative process
established under State law, for support and maintenance of a child, or of a child and the parent with whom the child is living,
which has not been paid, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 664(c).
State means the several States of the United States. The term “State” also includes the District of Columbia, American
Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico.
Tax refund offset means withholding or reducing a tax refund payment by an amount necessary to satisfy a debt owed by
the payee(s) of a tax refund payment.
Tax refund payment means any overpayment of Federal taxes to be refunded to the person making the overpayment after
the IRS makes the appropriate credits as provided in 26 U.S.C. 6402(a) and 26 CFR 6402-3(a)(6)(i) for any liabilities for any
Federal tax on the part of the person who made the overpayment.
(b) General rule. (1) Past-due support will be collected by tax refund offset upon notification to Fiscal Service in accordance
with 26 U.S.C. 6402(c), 42 U.S.C. 664 and this section. Collection by offset under 26 U.S.C. 6402(c) is a collection procedure
separate from the collection procedures provided by 26 U.S.C. 6305 and 26 CFR 301.6305-1, relating to the assessment and
collection of certain child and spousal support liabilities. Tax refund offset may be used separately or in conjunction with the
collection procedures provided in 26 U.S.C. 6305, as well as other collection procedures.
(2) Fiscal Service will compare tax refund payment records, as certified by the IRS, with records of debts submitted to
Fiscal Service. A match will occur when the taxpayer identifying number (as that term is used in 26 U.S.C. 6109) and name of a
payment certification record are the same as the taxpayer identifying number and name of a delinquent debtor record. When a
match occurs and all other requirements for tax refund offset have been met, Fiscal Service will reduce the amount of any tax
refund payment payable to a debtor by the amount of any past-due support debt owed by the debtor. Any amounts not offset
will be paid to the payee(s) listed in the payment certification record.
(c) Notification of past-due support—(1) Past-due support eligible for tax refund offset. Past-due support qualifies for tax
refund offset if:
(i)(A) There has been an assignment of the support obligation to a State and the amount of past-due support is not less
than $25.00, or such higher amount as HHS rules may allow, whichever is greater; or
(B) A State agency is providing support collection services under 42 U.S.C. 654(4) and the amount of the past-due support
is not less than $500.00; and
(ii) A notification of liability for past-due support has been received by Fiscal Service as prescribed by paragraphs (c)(2) or
(c)(3) of this section.
(2) Notification of liability for past-due support and transmission of information to Fiscal Service by HHS. States notifying
HHS of past-due support shall do so in the manner and format prescribed by HHS. The notification of liability shall be
accompanied by a certification that the State has complied with the requirements contained in paragraph (c)(4) of this section
and with any requirements applicable to the offset of Federal tax refunds to collect past-due support imposed by State law or
procedures. HHS shall consolidate and transmit to Fiscal Service the information contained in the notifications of liability for
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past-due support submitted by the States provided that the State has certified that the requirements of paragraph (c)(4) of this
section have been met.
(3) Notification of liability for past-due support transmitted directly to Fiscal Service by States. States must notify HHS of
past-due support in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (c)(2) of this section unless HHS rules authorize notification to
Fiscal Service directly. If authorized by HHS rules, States may notify Fiscal Service directly of past-due support. States notifying
Fiscal Service directly of past-due support shall do so in the manner and format prescribed by Fiscal Service. The notification of
liability shall be accompanied by a certification that the State has complied with the requirements contained in paragraph (c)(4)
of this section and with any requirements applicable to the offset of Federal tax refunds to collect past-due support imposed by
State law or procedures. Fiscal Service may reject a notification of past-due support which does not comply with the
requirements of this section. Upon notification of the rejection and the reason for rejection, the State may resubmit a corrected
notification.
(4) Advance notification to debtor of intent to collect by tax refund offset. The State, or HHS if the State requests and HHS
agrees, is required to provide a written notification to the debtor, pursuant to the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 664(a)(3) and 45 CFR
303.72(e), informing the debtor that the State intends to refer the debt for collection by tax refund offset. The notice also shall:
(i) Instruct the debtor of the steps which may be taken to contest the State's determination that past-due support is owed or
the amount of the past-due support;
(ii) Advise any non-debtor who may file a joint tax return with the debtor of the steps which a non-debtor spouse may take
in order to secure his or her proper share of the tax refund; and
(iii) In cases when a debt is being enforced by more than one State, advise the debtor of his or her opportunities to request
a review with the State enforcing collection or the State issuing the support order as prescribed by the provisions of 45 CFR
303.72(g).
(5) Correcting and updating notification. The State shall, in the manner and in the time frames provided by Fiscal Service or
HHS, notify Fiscal Service or HHS of any deletion or net decrease in the amount of past-due support referred to Fiscal Service,
or HHS as the case may be, for collection by tax refund offset. The State may notify Fiscal Service or HHS of any increases in
the amount of the debt referred to Fiscal Service for collection by tax refund offset provided that the State has complied with the
requirements of paragraph (c)(4) of this section with regard to those debts.
(6) Collection of past-due support enforced by multiple States. When a State has knowledge that the debt is being enforced
by more than one State, the State notifying Fiscal Service, or HHS as the case may be, of the debt shall inform any such other
State involved in enforcing the debt when it receives the offset amount.
(d) Priorities for offset. (1) As provided in 26 U.S.C. 6402, a tax refund payment shall be reduced in the following order of
priority:
(i) First, by the amount of any past-due support which is to be offset under 26 U.S.C. 6402(c) and 42 U.S.C. 464;
(ii) Second, by the amount of any past-due, legally enforceable debt owed to a Federal agency which is to be offset under
26 U.S.C. 6402(d), 31 U.S.C. 3720A and §285.2 of this part; and
(iii) Third, by the amount of any past-due, legally enforceable debt owed to States (other than past-due support) which is to
be offset under 26 U.S.C. 6402(e) or 26 U.S.C. 6402(f).
(2) Reduction of the tax refund payment pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6402(a), (c), (d), and (e) shall occur prior to crediting the
overpayment to any future liability for an internal revenue tax. Any amount remaining after tax refund offset under 26 U.S.C.
6402(a), (c), (d), and (e) shall be refunded to the taxpayer, or applied to estimated tax, if elected by the taxpayer pursuant to
IRS regulations.
(e) Post-offset notice. (1)(i) Fiscal Service shall notify the debtor in writing of:
(A) The amount and date of the offset to satisfy past-due support;
(B) The State to which this amount has been paid or credited; and
(C) A contact point within the State that will handle concerns or questions regarding the offset.
(ii) The notice in paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section also will advise any non-debtor who may have filed a joint tax return with
the debtor of the steps which a non-debtor spouse may take in order to secure his or her proper share of the tax refund. See
paragraph (f) of this section.
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(2) Fiscal Service will advise HHS of the names, mailing addresses, and identifying numbers of the debtors from whom
amounts of past-due support were collected, of the amounts collected from each debtor through tax refund offset, the names of
any non-debtor spouses who may have filed a joint return with the debtor, and of the State on whose behalf each collection was
made. Alternatively, Fiscal Service will provide such information to each State that refers debts directly to Fiscal Service. Fiscal
Service will inform HHS and each State that the payment source is a tax refund payment.
(3) At least weekly, Fiscal Service will notify the IRS of the names and taxpayer identifying numbers of the debtors from
whom amounts owed for past-due support were collected from tax refund offsets and the amounts collected from each debtor.
(4) At such time and in such manner as Fiscal Service and HHS agree, but no less than annually, Fiscal Service will advise
HHS of the States which have furnished notices of past-due support, the number of cases in each State with respect to which
such notices have been furnished, the amount of past-due support sought to be collected by each State, and the amount of
such tax refund offset collections actually made in the case of each State. As Fiscal Service and HHS may agree, Fiscal
Service may provide additional offset-related information about States which have furnished notices of past-due support.
(f) Offset made with regard to a tax refund payment based upon joint return. If the person filing a joint return with a debtor
owing the past-due support takes appropriate action to secure his or her proper share of a tax refund from which an offset was
made, the IRS will pay the person his or her share of the refund and request that Fiscal Service deduct that amount from
amounts payable to HHS or the State, as the case may be. Fiscal Service and HHS, or the appropriate State, will adjust their
debtor records accordingly.
(g) Disposition of amounts collected. Fiscal Service will transmit amounts collected for debts, less fees charged under
paragraph (i) of this section, to HHS or to the appropriate State. If IRS notifies Fiscal Service that a tax refund payment that was
offset was erroneous or otherwise not due to the taxpayer, Fiscal Service will notify HHS or the appropriate State that the tax
refund payment was not eligible for offset. Subject to paragraph (h) of this section, Fiscal Service may deduct the amount of the
erroneous offset funds from amounts payable to HHS or the State, as the case may be; or, upon Fiscal Service's request, the
State shall return promptly to the affected taxpayer or Fiscal Service an amount equal to the amount of the erroneous funds
(unless the State previously has forwarded such amounts, or any portion of such amounts, to the affected taxpayer). HHS and
States shall notify Fiscal Service any time HHS or a State returns an erroneous offset payment to an affected taxpayer. Fiscal
Service and HHS, or the appropriate State, will adjust their debtor records accordingly.
(h) Time limitation. If IRS notifies Fiscal Service on or after January 1, 2016, that a tax refund payment that was offset was
erroneous or otherwise not due to the taxpayer, Fiscal Service shall not deduct the amount of the erroneous offset funds from
amounts due to HHS or the State, or otherwise demand return of the offset funds from the State pursuant to paragraph (g) of
this section, if the date of IRS's notification to Fiscal Service in paragraph (g) is more than six months after the date the tax
refund was offset (i.e., the tax refund payment date); and the State has already forwarded the funds as required or authorized
by 42 U.S.C. 657. This paragraph does not apply to paragraph (f) of this section.
(i) Fees. The State will pay a fee to Fiscal Service for the full cost of administering the tax refund offset program. The fee
(not to exceed $25 per case submitted) will be established annually in such amount as Fiscal Service and HHS agree to be
sufficient to reimburse Fiscal Service for the full cost of the offset procedure. Fiscal Service will deduct the fees from amounts
collected prior to disposition and transmit a portion of the fees deducted to reimburse the IRS for its share of the cost of
administering the tax refund offset program. Fees will be charged only for actual tax refund offsets completed.
(j) Review of tax refund offsets. In accordance with 26 U.S.C. 6402(f), any reduction of a taxpayer's refund made pursuant
to 26 U.S.C. 6402(c), (d), or (e) shall not be subject to review by any court of the United States or by the Secretary of the
Treasury, Fiscal Service or IRS in an administrative proceeding. No action brought against the United States to recover the
amount of this reduction shall be considered to be a suit for refund of tax.
(k) Access to and use of confidential tax information. Access to and use of confidential tax information in connection with
the tax refund offset program is permitted to the extent necessary in establishing appropriate agency records, locating any
person with respect to whom a reduction under 26 U.S.C. 6402(c) is sought for purposes of collecting the debt, and in the
defense of any litigation or administrative procedure ensuing from a reduction made under section 6402(c).
(l) Effective date. This section applies to tax refund payments payable under 26 U.S.C. 6402 after January 1, 1999.
[63 FR 72094, Dec. 30, 1998, as amended at 72 FR 59480, Oct. 22, 2007; 74 FR 27433, June 10, 2009; 80 FR 81465, Dec. 30, 2015]
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§285.4 Offset of Federal benefit payments to collect past-due, legally enforceable nontax debt.
(a) Scope. (1) This section sets forth special rules applicable to the offset of Federal benefit payments payable to an
individual under the Social Security Act (other than Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments), part B of the Black Lung
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Benefits Act, or any law administered by the Railroad Retirement Board (other than payments that such Board determines to be
tier 2 benefits) to collect delinquent nontax debt owed to the United States.
(2) As used in this section, benefit payments “due to” an individual, “payable to” an individual, and/or benefit payments
“received by” an individual, refer to those benefit payments expected to be paid to an individual before any amounts are offset
to satisfy the payee's delinquent debt owed to the United States. Nothing in these phrases, similar phrases, or this section is
intended to imply or confer any new or additional rights or benefits on an individual with respect to his or her entitlement to
benefit payments. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service), the Social Security Administration, the Railroad Retirement
Board, and other payment agencies are not liable for the amount offset from an individual's benefit payment on the basis that
the underlying obligation, represented by the payment before the offset was taken, was not satisfied. See 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(2)
(A).
(b) Definitions. As used in this section:
Administrative offset or offset means withholding funds payable by the United States (including funds payable by the United
States on behalf of a State government) to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a debt.
Agency or Federal agency means a department, agency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the
executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the Federal Government, including government corporations.
Covered benefit payment means a Federal benefit payment payable to an individual under the Social Security Act (other
than SSI payments), part B of the Black Lung Benefits Act, or any law administered by the Railroad Retirement Board (other
than payments that such Board determines to be tier 2 benefits). The amount of the covered benefit payment payable to a
debtor for purposes of this section will be the amount after reduction or deduction required under the laws authorizing the
program. Reductions to recover benefit overpayments are excluded from the covered benefit payment when calculating
amounts available for offset.
Creditor agency means a Federal agency owed a debt that seeks to collect that debt through administrative offset.
Debt or claim means an amount of money, funds, or property which has been determined by an agency official to be due
the United States from any person, organization, or entity except another Federal agency. Debt or claim does not include a debt
or claim arising under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or the tariff laws of the United States.
Debtor means a person who owes a debt. The term “person” includes any individual, organization or entity, except another
Federal agency.
Disbursing official means an official who has authority to disburse public money pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3321 or another law,
including an official of the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Defense, the United States Postal Service, or any
other government corporation, or any official of the United States designated by the Secretary of the Treasury to disburse public
money.
Fiscal Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
Monthly covered benefit payment means a covered benefit payment payable to a payee on a recurring basis at monthly
intervals that is not expressly limited in duration, at the time the first payment is made, to a period of less than 12 months.
Payee means a person who is due a payment from a disbursing official. For purposes of this section, a “payee” is a person
who is entitled to the benefit of all or part of a payment from a disbursing official.
Taxpayer identifying number means the identifying number described under section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (26 U.S.C. 6109). For an individual, the taxpayer identifying number generally is the individual's social security number.
(c) Administrative offset, generally. Disbursing officials shall offset payments to satisfy, in whole or in part, debts owed by
the payee. Disbursing officials shall compare payment records with records of debts submitted to Fiscal Service for collection by
administrative offset. A match will occur when the taxpayer identifying number and name of the payee (as defined in paragraph
(b) of this section) on a payment record are the same as the taxpayer identifying number and name of the debtor on a debt
record. When a match occurs and all other requirements for offset have been met, the disbursing official shall offset the
payment to satisfy, in whole or in part, the debt. Any amounts not offset shall be paid to the payee. Covered benefit payments,
i.e., payments made to individuals under the Social Security Act (other than Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments),
part B of the Black Lung Benefits Act, or any law administered by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) (other than tier 2 benefit
payments) are among the types of payments which may be offset to collect debts owed to the United States. Offset of covered
benefit payments are subject to the limitations contained in this section. Offsets of covered benefit payments will occur only if
the name and taxpayer identifying number of the person who is entitled to the benefit of all or a part of the payment matches the
name and taxpayer identifying number of the debtor.
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(d) Submission of debts to Fiscal Service for collection by administrative offset. Creditor agencies must notify Fiscal
Service of all past-due, legally enforceable debt delinquent for more than 120 days for purposes of collection by administrative
offset. Creditor agencies may notify Fiscal Service of all debt delinquent for less than 120 days for purposes of collection by
administrative offset. Prior to such notification, creditor agencies must certify to Fiscal Service that the debt is past-due, legally
enforceable, and that the creditor agency has provided the debtor with notice and an opportunity for a review in accordance
with the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3716(a) and other applicable law.
(e) Offset amount. (1) The amount offset from a monthly covered benefit payment shall be the lesser of:
(i) The amount of the debt, including any interest, penalties and administrative costs;
(ii) An amount equal to 15% of the monthly covered benefit payment; or
(iii) The amount, if any, by which the monthly covered benefit payment exceeds $750.
(2) A debtor shall not receive a refund of any amounts offset if the debtor's monthly covered benefit payments are reduced,
suspended, terminated, or otherwise not received for a period of 12 months.
(3) Examples. (i) A debtor receives monthly Social Security benefits of $850. The amount offset is the lesser of $127.50
(15% of $850) or $100 (the amount by which $850 exceeds $750). In this example, the amount offset is $100 (assuming the
debt is $100 or more).
(ii) A debtor receives monthly Social Security benefits of $1250. The amount offset is the lesser of $187.50 (15% of $1250)
or $500 (the amount by which $1250 exceeds $750). In this example, the amount offset is $187.50 (assuming the debt is
$187.50 or more).
(iii) A debtor receives monthly Social Security payments of $650. No amount will be offset because $650 is less than $750.
(f) Notification of offset. (1) Before offsetting a covered benefit payment, the disbursing official will notify the payee in writing
of the date offset will commence. The notice shall inform the payee of the type of payment that will be offset; the identity of the
creditor agency which requested the offset; and a contact point within the creditor agency that will handle concerns regarding
the offset.
(2) The disbursing official conducting the offset will notify the payee in writing of the occurrence of the offset to satisfy, in
whole or in part, a delinquent debt owed to the United States. The notice shall inform the payee of the type and amount of the
payment that was offset; the identity of the creditor agency which requested the offset; and a contact point within the creditor
agency that will handle concerns regarding the offset.
(3) Non-receipt by the debtor of the notices described in paragraphs (f)(1) and (f)(2) of this section shall not impair the
legality of the administrative offset.
(g) Fees. A fee which Fiscal Service has determined to be sufficient to cover the full cost of the offset procedure, shall be
deducted from each offset amount. Creditor agencies may add this fee to the debt if not otherwise prohibited by law.
(h) Disposition of amounts collected. The disbursing official conducting the offset will transmit amounts collected for debts,
less fees charged under paragraph (g) of this section, to the appropriate creditor agency. If an erroneous offset payment is
made to a creditor agency, the disbursing official will notify the creditor agency that an erroneous offset payment has been
made. The disbursing official may deduct the amount of the erroneous offset payment from future amounts payable to the
creditor agency. Alternatively, upon the disbursing official's request, the creditor agency shall return promptly to the disbursing
official or the affected payee an amount equal to the amount of the erroneous payment. The disbursing official and the creditor
agency shall adjust the debtor records appropriately.
[63 FR 44988, Aug. 21, 1998, as amended at 81 FR 1319, Jan. 12, 2016]
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§285.5 Centralized offset of Federal payments to collect nontax debts owed to the United States.
(a) Scope. (1) This section governs the centralized offset of Federal payments to collect delinquent, nontax debts owed to
Federal agencies in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3716, 3720A and 26 U.S.C. 6402 and applicable regulations. The Department
of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) administers centralized offset through the Treasury Offset
Program. Offset occurs when the Federal government withholds part or all of a debtor's Federal payment to satisfy the debtor's
delinquent debt owed to the government.
(2) Special rules apply to the collection of delinquent, nontax debts through the centralized offset of certain types of Federal
payments, including tax refunds (31 CFR 285.2), Federal benefit payments (31 CFR 285.4), and Federal salary payments (31
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CFR 285.7). While this rule applies to such payments, nothing in this rule is intended to contradict any provision of those more
specific sections. To the extent any provision of this rule is inconsistent with a more specific provision of §285.2, §285.4 or
§285.7 of this part, the more specific provision shall apply.
(3) The receipt of collections pursuant to this section does not preclude a Federal agency from pursuing other debt
collection remedies in conjunction with centralized offset. Nothing in this section precludes an agency from pursuing all
available debt collection remedies simultaneously, provided that collections do not exceed the amount of the debt, including any
interest, penalties, and administrative costs.
(b) Definitions. As used in this section:
Agency or Federal agency means a department, agency or subagency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality
in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the Federal Government, including government corporations.
Centralized offset means the offset of Federal payments through the Treasury Offset Program to collect debts which
creditor agencies have certified pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3716(c), 3720A(a) and applicable regulations. The term “centralized
offset” includes the Treasury Offset Program's processing of offsets of Federal payments disbursed by disbursing officials other
than Fiscal Service.
Creditor agency has the same meaning as found at 31 U.S.C. 3701(e)(1) and means any Federal agency that is owed a
claim or debt that seeks to collect that claim or debt through offset of Federal payments.
Debt or claim has the meaning contained in 31 U.S.C. 3701(b) and means any amount of money, funds, or property that
has been determined by an appropriate official of the Federal government to be owed to the United States by a person,
organization, or entity, except another Federal agency. The terms “debt” and “claim” are synonymous and include debt
administered by a third party acting as an agent for the Federal Government. For purposes of this section, the term “debt” does
not include debts arising under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), the tariff laws of the United States, or
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), except to the extent provided in sections 204(f) and 1631(b)(4) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 404(f) and 1383(b)(4)(A), respectively) and 31 U.S.C. 3716(c).
Debt collection center means a Federal agency or a unit or subagency within a Federal agency that has been designated
by the Secretary to collect debt owed to the United States.
Debtor means a person who owes a debt to the United States.
Delinquent or past-due refers to the status of a debt and means a debt has not been paid by the date specified in the
agency's initial written demand for payment, or applicable agreement or instrument (including a post-delinquency payment
agreement), unless other payment arrangements satisfactory to the creditor agency have been made. Nothing in this section is
intended to define whether a debt is delinquent or past-due for purposes other than offset under this section.
Delinquent debt record means information about a past-due, legally enforceable debt submitted by a creditor agency to
Fiscal Service for purposes of offset in accordance with the provisions of this section. Information about a past-due, legally
enforceable debt includes, but is not limited to, the amount of the debt and the debtor's name, address, and taxpayer identifying
number.
Disbursing official means an official who has authority to disburse public money pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3321 or another law,
including an official of the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Defense, the United States Postal Service, or any
other government corporation, or any official of the United States designated by the Secretary of the Treasury to disburse public
money.
Fiscal Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury and its disbursing
office. Fiscal Service is responsible for administering centralized offset.
Legally enforceable refers to a characteristic of a debt and means there has been a final agency determination that the
debt, in the amount stated, is due, and there are no legal bars to collection by offset. Debts that are not legally enforceable for
purposes of this section include, but are not limited to, debts subject to the automatic stay in bankruptcy proceedings or debts
covered by a statute that prohibits collection of such debt by offset. For example, if a delinquent debt is the subject of a pending
administrative review process required by statute or regulation, and if collection action during the review process is prohibited,
the debt is not considered legally enforceable for purposes of this section. Nothing in this section is intended to define whether
a debt is legally enforceable for purposes other than offset under this section.
Match means the taxpayer identifying number and name (or derivative thereof) of the payee on a payment record are the
same as the taxpayer identifying number and name of the debtor on a delinquent debt record.
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Offset means withholding funds payable by the United States to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a debt
owed by the payee.
Past-due has the same meaning as “delinquent”, as defined above.
Payee means a person who is due a payment from a disbursing official as certified by the payment agency. For purposes
of this section, a “payee” is a person who is entitled to the benefit of all or part of a payment from a disbursing official.
Payment agency means any agency that transmits payment requests, in the form of certified payment vouchers or other
similar forms, to a disbursing official for disbursement.
Payment record means information contained on a payment request, in the form of a certified payment voucher or other
similar form, that has been transmitted to a disbursing official for disbursement in accordance with the provisions of 31 U.S.C.
3325 and 3528 or other applicable law. For purposes of matching, “payment record” may include information extracted from a
payment request. Such information could include, but is not limited to, the amount and type of payment and the payee's name,
address, and taxpayer identifying number.
Person means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization, State or local government, or any other
type of entity other than a Federal agency.
Recurring payment means a payment to an individual that is expected to be payable to a payee at regular intervals, at least
four times annually. The term “recurring payment” does not include payments made pursuant to a Federal contract, grant or
cooperative agreement.
Representative payee means a person named as payee on the payment voucher certified by the payment agency who is
acting on behalf of a person entitled to receive the benefit of all or part of the payment.
Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury.
Taxpayer identifying number means the identifying number described under section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (26 U.S.C. 6109). For an individual, the taxpayer identifying number is generally the individual's social security number.
(c) General rule. (1) Creditor agencies shall submit delinquent debts to Fiscal Service for purposes of offset in accordance
with paragraph (d) of this section.
(2) Disbursing officials shall compare payment records with delinquent debt records submitted to Fiscal Service for
collection by offset. When a match occurs, and all other requirements for offset have been met, the disbursing official shall
offset the payment to satisfy, in whole or part, the payee's debt to the extent allowed by law. The disbursing official shall pay any
amounts not offset to the payee. See paragraphs (e), (f), (g), and (h) of this section.
(d) Requirements for creditor agencies—(1) Mandatory notification of delinquent debts. As required by 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)
(6), and in accordance with the provisions of this section, a creditor agency shall notify Fiscal Service of all legally enforceable
debts over 120 days delinquent that are owed to the creditor agency. By complying with this requirement, creditor agencies will
satisfy the requirement of 31 U.S.C. 3720A(a) to notify the Secretary of past due, legally enforceable debt for purposes of tax
refund offset. If a debt which is over 120 days delinquent is considered not legally enforceable solely because it is under review
as described in paragraph (d)(6)(ii)(C) of this section, the agency must submit the debt to Fiscal Service for collection by offset
within 30 days of completing the review.
(2) Discretionary notification of delinquent debts. Creditor agencies may notify Fiscal Service of any debt that is less than
120 days delinquent, so long as the requirements of paragraph (d)(3) of this section are met.
(3) Debt eligibility. (i) A debt submitted to Fiscal Service for collection by centralized offset must be:
(A) Past-due in the amount stated by the creditor agency;
(B) Legally enforceable;
(C) More than $25, or such other amount as Fiscal Service may prescribe; and
(D) Not secured by collateral subject to a pending foreclosure action, unless the creditor agency certifies that offset will not
affect the Government's rights to the secured collateral.
(ii) The creditor agency must certify that the debt is eligible for collection by offset, as required in paragraph (d)(6) of this
section.
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(iii) Debts owed by foreign sovereigns may be referred to Treasury Offset Program at the discretion of the creditor agency
to the extent allowed by law, but are excluded from mandatory referral under paragraph (d)(1) of this section.
(iv) In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3719 and the procedures promulgated thereunder, creditor agencies must report to
Treasury the amount of debt over 120 days delinquent eligible for the Treasury Offset Program. The procedures require that
such report include the amount of debt over 120 days delinquent that the creditor agency has determined is not eligible for the
Treasury Offset Program and the reasons for such determination.
(v) Creditor agencies may submit nontax debts to Fiscal Service for collection by centralized offset irrespective of the
amount of time the debt has been outstanding. Accordingly, all nontax debts, including debts that were outstanding for ten years
or longer prior to June 11, 2009 may be collected by centralized offset.
(4) Creditor agency regulations. Prior to submitting a debt to Fiscal Service for purposes of offset, Federal agencies shall
prescribe regulations in accordance with the requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3716(b), 31 CFR 901.3(b)(4), 31 U.S.C. 3720A(a), and
31 CFR 285.2(c). Before submitting debts to Fiscal Service for purposes of offsetting Federal salary payments, creditor
agencies must also publish regulations pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5514, 31 CFR 285.7(d)(2), and 5 CFR 550.1104.
(5) Delinquent debt information requirements. For each debt submitted to Fiscal Service for offset, the creditor agency shall
provide the following information:
(i) Name and taxpayer identifying number of the person who owes the debt;
(ii) Debtor's address last known to the creditor agency;
(iii) The amount of the debt (including, as applicable, interest, penalties and administrative costs) and the date on which the
debt became delinquent;
(iv) The address and telephone number of the contact point within the creditor agency who will handle questions, concerns
or communications regarding the debt;
(v) Written certification as required in paragraph (d)(6) of this section; and
(vi) Other information as may be requested by Fiscal Service.
(6) Creditor agency certification. At the time the creditor agency notifies Fiscal Service of a debt for purposes of collection
by offset, the creditor agency shall provide, in the manner required by Fiscal Service, written certification to Fiscal Service that:
(i) The debt meets the requirements described in paragraph (d)(3)(i) of this section;
(ii) In compliance with 31 U.S.C. 3716, 3720A, 26 U.S.C. 6402, and applicable regulations, the creditor agency has made a
reasonable attempt to provide each debtor with:
(A) Written notification, at least sixty days prior to submitting the debt and at the debtor's most current address known to
the agency, of the nature and the amount of the debt, the intention of the creditor agency to collect the debt through offset, and
an explanation of the rights of the debtor;
(B) An opportunity to inspect and copy the records of the creditor agency with respect to the debt;
(C) An opportunity for a review within the creditor agency of the determination of indebtedness, including the opportunity to
present evidence that all or part of the debt is not past-due or legally enforceable;
(D) An opportunity to enter into a written repayment agreement with the creditor agency; and
(E) In the case of Federal employees, an opportunity for a hearing prior to submitting the debt for Federal salary offset. See
5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR 550.1104. (See 31 CFR 285.7(d), which describes the authority to waive the salary offset certification
as a prerequisite to referring the debt for other types of offsets.)
(iii) For debts outstanding more than ten years on or before June 11, 2009, the notice of intent to offset described in
paragraph (d)(6)(ii)(A) of this section was sent to the debtor after the debt was outstanding for more than ten years, and that the
debtor was afforded the rights described in paragraphs (d)(6)(ii)(B) through (E). This requirement will apply even in a case
where notice was also sent prior to the debt being outstanding for ten years but does not apply to any debt that could be
collected by offset without regard to any time limitation prior to June 11, 2009.
(iv) The creditor agency has complied with all statutes, regulations, and policies applicable to the creditor agency's
assessment of interest, penalties and administrative costs (including, as applicable, 31 U.S.C. 3717), and that the creditor
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agency has provided a written notice to debtors explaining the creditor agency's requirements concerning any such charges
assessed against those debtors;
(v) The individual signing the certification has the delegated authority to execute the certification on behalf of the head of
the creditor agency; and
(vi) Such additional information that Fiscal Service may from time to time require in compliance with law, regulation or
policy.
(7) Updating certification. After a debt has been submitted to Fiscal Service for purposes of collection by offset, the creditor
agency shall provide, at least annually, in the manner and time frames required by Fiscal Service, written certification to Fiscal
Service that:
(i) The debt continues to meet the requirements described in paragraph (d)(3) of this section; and
(ii) The creditor agency has properly credited all collections to the debt balance (other than collections received through
centralized offset).
(8) Fiscal Service instructions to creditor agencies. Agencies will provide the certification in a form and manner prescribed
by Fiscal Service. Fiscal Service will instruct agencies as to the form such written certifications will take and how certifications
can be delivered to Fiscal Service, including, but not limited to, the use of electronic data transmission.
(9) Agencies which are both creditor and disbursing officials. A creditor agency that also designates disbursing officials
pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3321(c) is not required to certify debts arising out of its operations to Fiscal Service before such agency's
disbursing officials offset to collect such claims. This paragraph (d)(9) does not apply to Fiscal Service when it submits debts
which it is servicing pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3711(g).
(10) Correcting and updating debt information. (i) When submitting debts for offset, the creditor agency must properly credit
all collections, other than collections received from centralized offset.
(ii) The creditor agency shall update delinquent debt records, in the manner and time frames required by Fiscal Service, to
reflect any amounts credited by the creditor agency to the debtor's account after submission of the debt to Fiscal Service (other
than credits for amounts collected by centralized offset).
(iii) The creditor agency may update delinquent debt records to reflect any increases in the amount of the debt submitted to
Fiscal Service for collection by offset provided that the creditor agency has complied with the requirements of paragraph (d)(6)
of this section with regard to the increased amounts.
(iv) The creditor agency shall notify Fiscal Service immediately of any change in the status of the legal enforceability of the
debt—for example, if the creditor agency receives notice that the debtor has filed for bankruptcy protection.
(v) The creditor agency shall notify Fiscal Service if it has returned any monies to the debtor/payee.
(11) Debts at Fiscal Service, a debt collection center, or the Department of Justice. If a creditor agency has transferred a
debt to Fiscal Service or a Treasury-designated debt collection center pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3711(g) and 31 CFR 285.12, or if a
creditor agency has referred a debt to the Department of Justice for enforced collection, then Fiscal Service, the debt collection
center, or the Department of Justice, as the case may be, is responsible for submitting the debt information to Fiscal Service to
satisfy the creditor agency's obligations under 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(6) and this section.
(12) Certification of amount to be offset if different than maximum allowed by law. Generally, the amount of an offset will be
calculated as set forth in paragraph (f)(2) of this section. If the creditor agency certifies to Fiscal Service that the creditor agency
has determined the offset amount allowed by law would result in financial hardship to the debtor and that a lesser offset amount
(specified either in dollar amount or as a percentage of the payment) is reasonable and appropriate based on the debtor's
financial circumstances, then the disbursing official shall offset such lesser amount specified by the creditor agency.
(13) Duplication of notices not required. Nothing in this section requires any creditor agency to duplicate any notice or
opportunity for hearing or review provided to the debtor prior to offset.
(e) Payments made by the United States—(1) Payments eligible for offset. Except as set forth in paragraph (e)(2) of this
section, all Federal payments are eligible for offset under this section. Eligible Federal payments include, but are not limited to,
Federal wage, salary, and retirement payments, vendor and expense reimbursement payments, certain benefit payments, travel
advances and reimbursements, grants, fees, refunds, judgments (including those certified for payment pursuant to 31 U.S.C.
1304), tax refunds, and other payments made by Federal agencies.
(2) Payments excluded from offset under this section. This section does not apply to the following payments:
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(i) Black Lung Part C benefit payments, or Railroad Retirement tier 2 payments;
(ii) Payments made under the tariff laws of the United States;
(iii) Veterans Affairs benefit payments to the extent such payments are exempt from offset pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 5301;
(iv) Payments made under any program administered by the Secretary of Education under title IV of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 for which payments are certified by the Department of Education;
(v) Payments made under any other Federal law if offset is expressly prohibited by Federal statute;
(vi) Payments made under any program for which the Secretary has granted an exemption in accordance with the
provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(3)(B) and paragraph (e)(7) of this section; and
(vii) Federal loan payments other than travel advances.
(3) Specific rules for certain payment types. (i) Specific rules apply with respect to the offset of the following types of
payments:
(A) Social Security benefit payments (excluding Supplemental Security Income payments), Black Lung (part B) payments,
and Railroad Retirement (other than tier 2) payments to the extent such payments are subject to offset under 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)
(3)(A) (see 31 CFR 285.4);
(B) Federal salary payments (see 31 CFR 285.7; 5 CFR 550.1101 through 550.1108); and
(C) Tax refund payments (see 31 CFR 285.2).
(ii) This section governs the offset of such payments to the extent that this section is not inconsistent with the special rules
that apply for a particular type of payment.
(4) Payments made to joint payees. If a payment is certified to more than one payee (i.e. , joint payees), the entire payment
(including a tax refund payment) will be subject to offset for a debt of either payee, unless otherwise prohibited by law or
regulation. See 31 CFR 285.2(g) regarding offset of joint tax refunds and claims to return offset funds to the non-debtor, joint
payee.
(5) Payments made to representative payees. If a payment is made to a person solely in that person's capacity as a
representative payee for another person having the beneficial interest in a payment, the disbursing official shall offset that
payment only to collect debts owed by the person having the beneficial interest in the payment. Payment agencies are
responsible for identifying representative payees.
(6) Assigned payments. (i) If a person, including a Federal contractor, assigns the right to receive a Federal payment to a
third party (the “assignee”), the assigned payment will be subject to offset to collect a delinquent debt owed by the assignee.
(ii) An assigned payment will also be subject to offset to collect delinquent debts owed by the assignor unless:
(A) In accordance with 41 U.S.C. 15(e)-(f), the payment has been properly assigned to a financial institution pursuant to a
Federal contract, the contract contains provisions prohibiting the payment from being reduced or offset for debts owed by the
contractor, and the debt arose independently of the contract; or
(B) pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3727, the payment is being made to the assignee as settlement or satisfaction of a claim brought
by the assignee against the creditor agency based upon the contract, and the debt of the contractor arises independently of the
contract; or
(C) the debtor has properly assigned the right to such payments and the debt arose after the effective date of the
assignment.
(7) Payment agency requests for exemptions from centralized offset pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(3)(B)—(i) Means-tested
payments. The Secretary will exempt from centralized offset payments made under means-tested programs when requested by
the head of the agency making such payments. For purposes of this section “means-tested programs” are those which base
eligibility on a determination that the income and/or assets of the beneficiary are inadequate to provide the beneficiary with an
adequate standard of living without program assistance.
(ii) Payments made under programs which are not means-tested. Upon written request from the payment agency, the
Secretary may exempt classes of payments which are not means-tested. Payment agencies may request that the Secretary
exempt 100% of each payment in a payment class or that the Secretary exempt a specific lesser percentage. The Secretary will
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consider such requests under standards prescribed by the Secretary and published on the Fiscal Service Web site. See
www.fiscal.treasury.gov/debt.
(iii) Procedures for requesting exemptions. The head of the payment agency must make a request for exemption in writing.
The request must comply with the procedures published by Fiscal Service and made available at its Web site. See
www.fiscal.treasury.gov/debt.
(iv) Exemptions apply to classes of payments. The Secretary will only exempt classes of payments. Requests for
exemption of individual payments will not be considered.
(8) Payment agency responsibilities. (i) Payment agencies shall prepare and submit payment vouchers in the manner
prescribed by the disbursing official to ensure that all payments legally eligible for offset will be offset and all payments not
eligible will not be offset. Payment agencies shall notify the disbursing agency, in the manner prescribed by Fiscal Service, that
a payment is a recurring payment.
(ii) Payment agencies shall also review the nature of payments the agency certifies and notify Fiscal Service of any legal
bars to centralized offset of payments.
(9) Payment and disbursing officials have satisfied the obligation underlying the payment. When an offset occurs, the
debtor has received payment in full for the underlying obligation represented by the payment. Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(2)
(A), neither the disbursing official nor the payment agency shall be liable for the amount of the offset on the basis that the
underlying obligation was not satisfied. For example, if an agency certifies a payment to a Federal contractor for work
completed or services provided, and that payment is offset to collect a delinquent debt that the contractor owes to another
Federal agency, the contractor has been paid in full for its services. When the creditor agency credits the offset amount to the
contractor's delinquent debt, the contractor has received full value for the services performed under the contract.
(f) Offset—(1) When offset occurs. When a match occurs and all other requirements for offset under 31 U.S.C. 3716(c),
3720A, and applicable regulations have been met, the disbursing official shall offset the payee's Federal payment to satisfy, in
whole or part, the debt owed by the debtor. Offsets will continue until the debt, including any interest, penalties, and
administrative costs, is paid in full or otherwise resolved to the satisfaction of the creditor agency.
(2) Offset amount. (i) Except as otherwise provided in 31 CFR 285.4(e) and 285.7(g) (addressing centralized offset of
certain Federal benefit payments and salary payments, respectively), the disbursing official shall offset the lesser of:
(A) The amount of the payment as shown on the payment record; or
(B) The amount of the debt, including any interest, penalties and administrative costs; or
(C) In the case of retirement annuity payments certified by the Office of Personnel Management, up to twenty-five percent
of the amount of the payment as shown on the payment record.
(ii) Notwithstanding paragraph (f)(2)(i) of this section, if a creditor agency has specified another amount, either in dollars or
as a percentage of the payment, pursuant to paragraph (d)(15) of this section, the disbursing official shall offset the amount
specified by the creditor agency.
(3) Priorities for collecting multiple debts owed by the payee. (i) A levy pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall
take precedence over deductions under this section.
(ii) When a payment may be offset to collect more than one debt, amounts offset will be applied:
(A) First, to satisfy any past-due support that that the State is collecting under section 464 of the Social Security Act (see
285.1 and 285.3 of this part);
(B) Second, to satisfy any debts owed to Federal agencies, as described in this §285.5; and
(C) Third, to any debts owed to States for debts other than past-due support (see §§285.6 and 285.8 of this part).
(g) Notices—(1) Warning notice by disbursing official to payee/debtor. Before offsetting a recurring payment, the disbursing
official, or Fiscal Service on behalf of the disbursing official, will notify the payee in writing when offsets will begin (which may be
stated as a number of days or number of payments from the time of the notice) and the anticipated amount of such offset
(which may be stated as a percentage of the payment). Such notice shall also provide the information contained in paragraph
(g)(3) of this section. Failure to send such notice does not affect the validity of the offset.
(2) No additional warning notice when collections are suspended and resumed. As described in paragraph (f)(3)(iii) of this
section, Fiscal Service may suspend or reduce the application of collections from a recurring payment for one debt when
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another debt, which is owed by the same debtor and has a higher legal priority, is submitted to Fiscal Service for collection. The
disbursing official is not required to send additional warning notices when collections for the lower priority debt resume;
however, pursuant to paragraph (g)(3) of this section, each offset will be accompanied by an offset notice, which explains how
the offset amounts were applied.
(3) Offset notice. When an offset occurs under this section, the disbursing official, or Fiscal Service on behalf of the
disbursing official, shall notify the payee in writing that an offset has occurred including:
(i) A description of the payment and the amount of offset taken;
(ii) The identity of the creditor agency requesting the offset; and
(iii) The address and telephone number of the contact point within the creditor agency who will handle concerns regarding
the offset.
(h) Notification to creditor and payment agencies. (1) Fiscal Service will notify the creditor agency of all offsets made to
collect the creditor agency's debts. Such notification shall include the complete name and taxpayer identifying number of each
debtor/payee, the total amounts collected from each debtor/payee's payment, and the amount of any fees charged by Fiscal
Service and any other disbursing official conducting offsets. Fiscal Service will not advise the creditor agency of the source of
payment from which such amounts were collected.
(2) When a non-Treasury disbursing official conducts the offset, that disbursing official will transmit to Fiscal Service all of
the information necessary for Fiscal Service to send notification under paragraph (h)(1) of this section, including the amount of
any fees that the creditor agency is responsible for paying.
(3) Fiscal Service will make available to the payment agency the information contained in the notification of offset, so that
the payment agency may direct any questions concerning the claim to the appropriate contact person in the creditor agency.
(i) Disposition of amounts collected. (1) Fiscal Service will transmit amounts collected for debts, less fees charged pursuant
to paragraph (j) of this section, to the appropriate creditor agency or agencies. Alternatively, Fiscal Service may bill the creditor
agency for any fees charged pursuant to paragraph (j) of this section.
(2) If Fiscal Service learns from a paying agency that a payment should not have been made, and thus not offset, Fiscal
Service will notify the creditor agency. Fiscal Service may deduct the offset amount from future amounts payable to the creditor
agency. Alternatively, upon Fiscal Service's request, the creditor agency shall return promptly to the disbursing official an
amount equal to the amount of the offset (without regard to whether any other amounts payable to such disbursing official have
been paid).
(3) Generally, the disbursing official is not responsible for refunding money to debtors. The creditor agency shall notify
Fiscal Service any time the creditor agency returns all or any part of an offset payment to an affected payee. See paragraph (d)
(10)(v) of this section. Fiscal Service and the creditor agency shall adjust the debtor records appropriately.
(j) Fees. Fiscal Service may charge a fee sufficient to cover the full cost of implementing the centralized offset program,
including the amount of any fees charged by other disbursing officials conducting an offset under this section. Fiscal Service
may deduct the fees from amounts collected by offset or may bill the creditor agencies. Fiscal Service will charge fees only for
actual offsets collected.
(k) Waiver of certain provisions under the Computer Matching Privacy and Protection Act of 1988. As authorized by 31
U.S.C. 3716(f), Fiscal Service, under a delegation of authority from the Secretary, has waived certain requirements of the
Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, Pub. L. No. 100-503, as amended, for matches between delinquent
debt records and payment records for offset purposes upon written certification by the head of the creditor agency that the
requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3716(a) have been met. Specifically, for administrative offset of Federal payments other than tax
refunds, Fiscal Service has waived the requirements for a computer matching agreement contained in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) and for
post-match notice and verification contained in 5 U.S.C. 552a(p) so long as the creditor agency provides certification to Fiscal
Service in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (d)(6) of this section. Such waiver is not necessary for offset of Federal
tax refunds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(8)(B). The Data Integrity Board of the Department of the Treasury shall review and
include in reports under 5 U.S.C. 552a(u)(3)(D) a description of the matching activities conducted for centralized offset under
this section. No other Data Integrity Board is required to take any action under 5 U.S.C. 552a(u) concerning these computerized
comparisons.
[67 FR 78942, Dec. 26, 2002, as amended at 70 FR 7135, Jan. 21, 2005; 74 FR 27433, June 10, 2009; 74 FR 27708, June 11, 2009; 81
FR 1319, Jan. 12, 2016]
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§285.6 Administrative offset under reciprocal agreements with states.
(a) Scope. (1) This section sets forth the rules that apply to the administrative offset of Federal nontax payments to collect
delinquent debts owed to States. As set forth in 31 U.S.C. 3716(h), States may participate in administrative offset so long as
they meet certain requirements, including entering into reciprocal agreements with the Secretary of the Treasury. Such
reciprocal agreements may contain any requirements that the Secretary considers appropriate to facilitate offset. Participation
in offset under this section is voluntary for both Fiscal Service and the States. This section prescribes the minimum
requirements for such reciprocal agreements, including provisions applicable to the offset of State payments, pursuant to State
law, to collect delinquent Federal debts. Such offsets are defined in this section as “State payment offsets.”
(2) This section does not apply to the offset of Federal salary payments, Federal tax refunds (see 31 CFR 285.8), or the
collection of past-due support debts (see 31 CFR 285.1 and 285.3).
(b) Definitions. (1) Unless otherwise defined in paragraph §285.5(b) of this subpart.
(2) For purposes of this section:
Administrative offset has the meaning set forth in 31 U.S.C. 3701(a) and means withholding funds payable by the United
States to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a debt owed by the payee. The term debt in this definition means
a State debt.
Debtor means a person who owes a debt to the United States or a State.
Federal debt means any amount of money, funds or property that has been determined by an appropriate official of the
Federal government to be owed to the United States by a person, organization, or entity, except another Federal agency. The
term includes debt administered by a third party acting as an agent for the Federal Government. For purposes of this section,
the term “Federal debt” does not include debts arising under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), the tariff
laws of the United States, or the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), except to the extent provided in sections 204(f)
and 1631(b)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 404(f) and 1383(b)(4)(A), respectively) and 31 U.S.C. 3716(c).
Offset means withholding funds payable to a person to satisfy a debt owed by the payee.
Participating State means a State that has entered into a reciprocal agreement under this section.
Reciprocal agreement means a written agreement between Fiscal Service and a State, entered into pursuant to 31 U.S.C.
3716(h), which provides for administrative offset and State payment offset.
State has the meaning set forth in 31 U.S.C. 3701(b)(2) and includes the several states of the United States, the District of
Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
State debt means any amount of money, funds or property that has been determined by an appropriate State official to be
owed to that State by a person, organization, or entity, except the United States, a foreign sovereign, or another State (including
local governments within a State). For purposes of this rule, the term includes debt administered by a third party acting as an
agent for the State.
State payment offset means withholding funds payable by a State to, or held by a State for, a person to satisfy a debt owed
by the payee to the United States.
(c) General rule. Fiscal Service and other disbursing officials of the Federal Government will conduct administrative offset
to collect past-due State debts certified to Fiscal Service, and participating States will conduct State payment offset to collect
delinquent Federal debts in accordance with the terms of reciprocal agreements entered into between the States and Fiscal
Service, acting on behalf of the Secretary. Upon notification of a delinquent State debt from a participating State to Fiscal
Service, disbursing officials of the United States shall offset the Federal payments specified in the reciprocal agreement to
collect the State debt. The amount offset, minus an offset fee, shall be forwarded to the State to be distributed in accordance
with applicable laws and procedures. Upon notification of a delinquent Federal debt from Fiscal Service to a participating State,
authorized officials of the participating State shall conduct State payment offset as specified in the applicable reciprocal
agreement to collect the Federal debt.
(d) Reciprocal agreements. (1) Fiscal Service may enter into reciprocal agreements with States for administrative offset
and State payment offset. The agreements shall contain any requirements which Fiscal Service considers appropriate to
facilitate the offset and prevent duplicative efforts, and shall require States to prescribe procedures governing the collection of
delinquent State debts which are substantially similar to requirements imposed on Federal agencies pursuant to 31 U.S.C.
3716(b). States may prescribe such procedures through legislation or regulations, as deemed appropriate by State officials.
States which have entered into a reciprocal agreement with Fiscal Service pursuant to this section may thereafter request, in
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the manner prescribed in the reciprocal agreement, that administrative offsets be performed. Such requests shall be made by
the appropriate State disbursing official, which, for purposes of this section, means an appropriate official of the State agency
that is responsible for collecting the State debt. Reciprocal agreements must be signed by a State official authorized to enter
into such agreements.
(2) Once Fiscal Service has entered into a reciprocal agreement with a State pursuant to this section, Fiscal Service may
request that the State perform State payment offsets to collect delinquent Federal debts in accordance with the terms of the
reciprocal agreement.
(3) A duly executed reciprocal agreement is required before a State may request an administrative offset pursuant to 31
U.S.C. 3716(h).
(e) Requirements for submitting State debts for administrative offset—(1) Debt eligibility. A State debt submitted to Fiscal
Service for collection by administrative offset must meet the debt eligibility requirements of 31 CFR 285.5(d)(3)(i).
(2) Certification. At the time a participating State notifies Fiscal Service of a State debt for purposes of collection by
administrative offset under this section, the State shall comply with the certification requirements set forth in paragraph 31 CFR
285.5(d)(6) with the following two exceptions:
(i) Paragraph (d)(6)(ii)(E)—Federal salary offset; and
(ii) Paragraph (d)(6)(iii)—Federal requirements for the assessment of interest and penalties to Federal debts. Additionally,
with respect to paragraph (d)(6)(ii) of §285.5, States shall only be required to certify that they have complied with the
requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3716 (not 31 U.S.C. 3720A or 26 U.S.C. 6402) and this section 285.6. States shall also certify that
they have complied with any requirements imposed by State law or procedure that may be applicable to administrative offset.
(f) State debts submitted to Fiscal Service for tax refund offset. A State shall be deemed to have complied with the
requirements of paragraph (e)(2) of this section with respect to any State debt that the State certified to Treasury for collection
pursuant to §285.8 of this part.
(g) Federal Payments subject to administrative offset under this section. (1) The Federal payments that will be offset to
collect a participating State's debts shall be set forth in the reciprocal agreement. Federal payments that are excluded from
administrative offset under this section include:
(i) Any payments described in 31 CFR 285.5(e)(2) “Payments excluded from offset”;
(ii) Payments due to an individual under the Social Security Act;
(iii) Payments due an individual pursuant to part B of the Black Lung Benefits Act;
(iv) Payments due an individual pursuant to any law administered by the Railroad Retirement Board;
(v) Federal tax refunds; and
(vi) Federal salary payments.
(h) Conducting the administrative offset. (1) Disbursing officials shall conduct administrative offset under this section in the
same manner as set forth in 31 CFR 285.5(f) through (i).
(2) When a payee owes more than one delinquent State debt which has been referred to Fiscal Service for collection,
amounts will be applied to delinquent State debts under this section after any amounts offset pursuant to any other section of
this subpart A and any amounts levied pursuant 26 U.S.C. 6331.
(i) Liability of disbursing officials and payment agencies. Neither the Federal disbursing official nor the agency authorizing
the Federal payment shall be liable to a debtor for the amount of the administrative offset on the basis that the underlying
obligation, represented by the payment before the administrative offset was taken, was not satisfied.
(j) Notification to a State of Federal debt. (1) A State may set forth in the reciprocal agreement the requirements for Fiscal
Service to follow when submitting a Federal debt for collection by State payment offset. Such agreements shall set forth all
requirements contained in State law for the State payment offset. Such requirements, however, may not exceed the
requirements for collecting Federal debts by administrative offset as set forth in §285.5(d) of this subpart.
(2) Fiscal Service shall certify to a participating State that each debt Fiscal Service submits for State payment offset has
been certified by the Federal creditor agency to be delinquent, valid, and legally enforceable in the amount stated, and that the
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Federal creditor agency owed the debt has complied with the requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3716(a) prior to submitting the debt for
offset.
(k) Conducting State payment offset. (1) An official of a participating State shall conduct State payment offset pursuant to
the laws and regulations of the participating State; provided that:
(i) If a payment is owed jointly to more than one payee, the entire payment shall be offset for a debt of either payee, unless
otherwise prohibited by law or regulation; and
(ii) If a payment is made to a person solely in that person's capacity as a representative payee for another person having
the beneficial interest in the payment, the disbursing official shall offset that payment only to collect debts owed by the person
having the beneficial interest in the payment.
(2) Any prohibitions on offsetting a joint payment described in paragraph (k)(1)(i) of this section shall be set forth in the
reciprocal agreement.
(3) An official of the participating State shall notify the payee of the State payment offset. The reciprocal agreement may
contain detailed guidance and procedures regarding sending such notice, but shall, at a minimum require that the notice inform
the payee of:
(i) The type and amount of the payment that was offset;
(ii) The identity of the Federal agency that requested the offset; and
(iii) A contact point within the Federal agency that will handle concerns regarding the offset.
(l) Limitations. A debt properly submitted to Fiscal Service or the State for administrative offset or State payment offset shall
remain subject to collection until withdrawn by the entity that submitted the debt for collection, provided the debt remains pastdue and legally enforceable for purposes of administrative offset or State payment offset, as applicable. A debt which has been
reduced to a judgment shall remain legally enforceable for purposes of administrative offset and State payment offset for as
long as the judgment remains enforceable against the debtor.
(m) Fees. Fiscal Service shall deduct a fee from each administrative offset and State payment offset amount before
transferring the balance of the offset funds to the State or Federal agency owed the debt. Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(4), the
fee will be in an amount that Fiscal Service has determined to be sufficient to reimburse Fiscal Service for the full cost of the
offset procedure. Fiscal Service will notify the States and creditor agencies, annually and in advance, of the amount of the fee
Fiscal Service will charge for each offset.
[72 FR 1286, Jan. 11, 2007, as amended at 74 FR 56721, Nov. 3, 2009]
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§285.7 Salary offset.
(a) Purpose and scope. (1) This section establishes Fiscal Service's procedures for the centralized offset of Federal salary
payments to collect delinquent nontax debts owed to the United States. This process is known as centralized salary offset.
Rules issued by the Office of Personnel Management contain the requirements Federal agencies must follow prior to
conducting centralized or non-centralized salary offset and the procedures for requesting offsets directly from a paying agency,
rather than through TOP. See 5 CFR 550.1101 through 550.1108.
(2) This section implements the requirement under 5 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1) that all Federal agencies, using a process known
as centralized salary offset computer matching, identify Federal employees who owe delinquent nontax debt to the United
States. Centralized salary offset computer matching is the computerized comparison of delinquent debt records with records of
Federal employees. The purpose of centralized salary offset computer matching is to identify those debtors whose Federal
salaries should be offset to collect delinquent debts owed to the Federal Government.
(3) This section specifies the delinquent debt records and Federal employee records that must be included in the salary
offset matching process. For purposes of this section, delinquent debt records consist of the debt information submitted to the
Bureau of the Fiscal Service for purposes of administrative offset as required under 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(6). Agencies that submit
their debt to Fiscal Service for purposes of administrative offset are not required to submit duplicate information for purposes of
centralized salary offset computer matching under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and this section.
(4) This section establishes an interagency consortium to implement centralized salary offset computer matching on a
government-wide basis as required under 5 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1).
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(5) The receipt of collections from salary offsets does not preclude a creditor agency from pursuing other debt collection
remedies, including the offset of other Federal payments to satisfy delinquent nontax debt owed to the United States. A creditor
agency should pursue, when deemed appropriate by such agency, such debt collection remedies separately or in conjunction
with salary offset.
(6) This section does not govern the centralized offset of final salary payments or lump-sum payments made to employees
who have left an agency's employ. The centralized offset of such payments is governed by §285.5 of this part.
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
Administrative offset means withholding funds payable by the United States to, or held by the United States for, a person to
satisfy a debt owed by the payee.
Agency means a department, agency or subagency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the executive,
judicial, or legislative branch of the Federal government, including government corporations.
Centralized salary offset computer matching means the computerized comparison of Federal employee records with
delinquent debt records to identify Federal employees who owe such debts.
Creditor agency means any agency that is owed a debt.
Debt means any amount of money, funds, or property that has been determined by an appropriate official of the Federal
government to be owed to the United States by a person, including debt administered by a third party acting as an agent for the
Federal Government. For purposes of this section, the term “debt” does not include debts arising under the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.).
Delinquent debt record means information about a past-due, legally enforceable debt, submitted by a creditor agency to
Fiscal Service for purposes of administrative offset (including salary offset) in accordance with the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3716
and applicable regulations. Debt information includes the amount and type of debt and the debtor's name, address, and
taxpayer identifying number.
Disbursing official means an officer or employee designated to disburse Federal salary payments. This section applies to
all disbursing officials of Federal salary payments, including but not limited to, disbursing officials of the Department of the
Treasury, the Department of Defense, the United States Postal Service, any government corporation, and any disbursing official
of the United States designated by the Secretary.
Disposable pay has the same meaning as that term is defined in 5 CFR 550.1103.
Federal employee means a current employee of an agency, including a current member of the Armed Forces or a Reserve
of the Armed Forces (Reserves), employees of the United States Postal Service, and seasonal and temporary employees.
Federal employee records means records of Federal salary payments that a paying agency has certified to a disbursing
official for disbursement.
Fiscal Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
Paying agency means the agency that employs the Federal employee who owes the debt and authorizes the payment of
his or her current pay. A paying agency also includes an agency that performs payroll services on behalf of the employing
agency.
Salary offset means administrative offset to collect a debt owed by a Federal employee from the current pay account of the
employee.
Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury or his or her delegate.
Taxpayer identifying number means the identifying number described under section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (26 U.S.C. 6109). For an individual, the taxpayer identifying number is the individual's social security number.
(c) Establishment of the consortium. As required by the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1), by issuance of this section, the
Secretary establishes an interagency consortium to implement centralized salary offset computer matching. The consortium
initially includes all agencies that disburse Federal salary payments, including but not limited to, Fiscal Service, the Department
of Defense, the United States Postal Service, government corporations, and agencies with Treasury-designated disbursing
officials. The membership of the consortium may be changed at the discretion of the Secretary, and the Secretary will be
responsible for the ongoing coordination of the activities of the consortium.
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(d) Creditor agency participation. (1) As required under 5 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1), creditor agencies shall participate at least
annually in centralized salary offset computer matching. By notifying Fiscal Service of all past-due, legally enforceable debts
delinquent for more than 120 days for purposes of 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(6), creditor agencies shall have met the requirement set
forth in 5 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1). Additionally, creditor agencies may notify Fiscal Service of past-due, legally enforceable debts
delinquent for less than 120 days for purposes of centralized offset.
(2) Prior to submitting debts to Fiscal Service for purposes of administrative offset (including salary offset) and centralized
salary offset computer matching, Federal agencies shall prescribe regulations in accordance with the requirements of 31 U.S.C.
3716 (administrative offset) and 5 U.S.C. 5514 (salary offset).
(3) Prior to submitting a debt to Fiscal Service for purposes of collection by administrative offset, including salary offset,
creditor agencies shall provide written certification to Fiscal Service that:
(i) The debt is past-due and legally enforceable in the amount submitted to Fiscal Service and that the creditor agency will
ensure that collections (other than collections through offset) are properly credited to the debt;
(ii) The creditor agency has complied with the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3716 (administrative offset) and related regulations
including, but not limited to, the provisions requiring that the creditor agency provide the debtor with applicable notices and
opportunities for a review of the debt; and
(iii) The creditor agency has complied with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5514 (salary offset) and related regulations including,
but not limited to, the provisions requiring that the creditor agency provide the debtor with applicable notices and opportunities
for a hearing.
(4) The creditor agency is not required to submit the certification set forth in paragraph (d)(3)(iii) of this section prior to
submitting a debt to Fiscal Service. However, if the creditor agency does not provide such certification initially, the creditor
agency shall provide the Federal employee with the notices and opportunity for a hearing, as required by 5 U.S.C. 5514 and
applicable regulations, and shall make the necessary certification before the disbursing official offsets a salary payment
pursuant to this section. A creditor agency may submit a debt without the requirement set forth in paragraph (d)(3)(iii) of this
section, only if the creditor agency intends to complete the certification after complying with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5514 and
applicable regulations.
(5) The creditor agency shall notify Fiscal Service immediately of any payments credited by the creditor agency to the
debtor's account, other than credits for amounts collected by offset, after submission of the debt to Fiscal Service. The creditor
agency also shall notify Fiscal Service immediately of any change in the status of the legal enforceability of the debt, for
example, if the creditor agency receives notice that the debtor has filed for bankruptcy protection.
(6) Creditor agencies may submit nontax debts to Fiscal Service for collection by centralized salary offset irrespective of
the amount of time the debt has been outstanding. Accordingly, all nontax debts, including debts that were outstanding for ten
years or longer prior to June 11, 2009, may be collected by centralized salary offset.
(7) For debts that were outstanding more than ten years on or before June 11, 2009, creditor agencies must certify to
Fiscal Service that the notice described in paragraph (d)(3)(ii) of this section was sent to the debtor after the debt was
outstanding for ten years. This requirement will apply even in a case where notice was also sent prior to the debt being
outstanding for ten years but does not apply to any debt that could be collected by offset without regard to any time limitation
prior to June 11, 2009.
(e) Centralized salary offset computer match. (1) Delinquent debt records will be compared with Federal employee records
maintained by members of the consortium or paying agencies. The records will be compared to identify Federal employees who
owe delinquent debts for purposes of collecting the debt by administrative offset. A match will occur when the taxpayer
identifying number and name of a Federal employee are the same as the taxpayer identifying number and name of a debtor.
(2) As authorized by the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3716(f), Fiscal Service, under a delegation of authority from the Secretary,
has waived certain requirements of the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, 5 U.S.C. 552a, as amended, for
administrative offset, including salary offset, upon written certification by the head of the creditor agency that the requirements
of 31 U.S.C. 3716(a) have been met. Specifically, Fiscal Service has waived the requirements for a computer matching
agreement contained in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) and for post-match notice and verification contained in 5 U.S.C. 552a(p). The creditor
agency will provide certification in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (d)(3)(iii) of this section.
(f) Salary offset. When a match occurs and all other requirements for offset have been met, as required by the provisions of
31 U.S.C. 3716(c) the disbursing official shall offset the Federal employee's salary payment to satisfy, in whole or part, the debt
owed by the employee. Alternatively, the paying agency, on behalf of the disbursing official, may deduct the amount of the offset
from an employee's disposable pay before the employee's salary payment is certified to a disbursing official for disbursement.
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The salary paying agency shall use such records as it deems necessary to accurately calculate disposable pay in accordance
with 5 CFR 550.1103.
(g) Offset amount. (1) The amount offset from a salary payment under this section shall be the lesser of:
(i) The amount of the debt, including any interest, penalties and administrative costs; or
(ii) An amount up to 15% of the debtor's disposable pay.
(2) Alternatively, the amount offset may be an amount agreed upon, in writing, by the debtor and the creditor agency.
(3) Offsets will continue until the debt, including any interest, penalties, and costs, is paid in full or otherwise resolved to the
satisfaction of the creditor agency.
(h) Priorities. (1) A levy pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall take precedence over other deductions under
this section.
(2) When a salary payment may be reduced to collect more than one debt, amounts offset under this section will be applied
to a debt only after amounts have been applied to satisfy past-due support debts being collected by the State pursuant to
Section 464 of the Social Security Act.
(i) Notice. (1) Before offsetting a salary payment, the disbursing official, or the paying agency on behalf of the disbursing
official, shall notify the Federal employee in writing of the date deductions from salary will commence and of the amount of such
deductions.
(2)(i) When an offset occurs under this section, the disbursing official, or the paying agency on behalf of the disbursing
official, shall notify the Federal employee in writing that an offset has occurred including:
(A) A description of the payment and the amount of offset taken;
(B) The identity of the creditor agency requesting the offset; and,
(C) A contact point within the creditor agency that will handle concerns regarding the offset.
(ii) The information described in paragraphs (i)(2)(i)(B) and (i)(2)(i)(C) of this section does not need to be provided to the
Federal employee when the offset occurs if such information was included in a prior notice from the disbursing official or paying
agency.
(3) The disbursing official will advise each creditor agency of the names, mailing addresses, and taxpayer identifying
numbers of the debtors from whom amounts of past-due, legally enforceable debt were collected and of the amounts collected
from each debtor for that agency. The disbursing official will not advise the creditor agency of the source of payment from which
such amounts were collected.
(j) Fees. Agencies that perform centralized salary offset computer matching services may charge a fee sufficient to cover
the full cost for such services. In addition, Fiscal Service, or a paying agency acting on behalf of Fiscal Service, may charge a
fee sufficient to cover the full cost of implementing the administrative offset program. Fiscal Service may deduct the fees from
amounts collected by offset or may bill the creditor agencies. Fees charged for offset shall be based on actual administrative
offsets completed.
(k) Disposition of amounts collected. The disbursing official conducting the offset will transmit amounts collected for debts,
less fees charged under paragraph (j) of this section, to the appropriate creditor agency. If an erroneous offset payment is made
to a creditor agency, the disbursing official will notify the creditor agency that an erroneous offset payment has been made. The
disbursing official may deduct the amount of the erroneous offset payment from future amounts payable to the creditor agency.
Alternatively, upon the disbursing official's request, the creditor agency shall return promptly to the disbursing official or the
affected payee an amount equal to the amount of the erroneous payment (without regard to whether any other amounts
payable to such agency have been paid). The disbursing official and the creditor agency shall adjust the debtor records
appropriately.
[63 FR 23357, Apr. 28, 1998, as amended at 70 FR 22789, May 3, 2005; 74 FR 27433, June 10, 2009; 74 FR 27708, June 11, 2009; 81
FR 1319, Jan. 12, 2016]
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§285.8 Offset of tax refund payments to collect certain debts owed to States.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
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Debt means past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligation or unemployment compensation debt unless
otherwise indicated.
Debtor means a person who owes a debt.
Fiscal Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
IRS means the Internal Revenue Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
Past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligation means a debt which resulted from:
(1) A judgment rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction which has determined an amount of State income tax to be
due,
(2) A determination after an administrative hearing which has determined an amount of state income tax to be due and
which is no longer subject to judicial review, or
(3) A State income tax assessment (including self-assessments) which has become final in accordance with State law but
not collected and which has not been delinquent for more than 10 years.
State means the several States of the United States. The term “State” also includes the District of Columbia, American
Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico.
State income tax obligation means State income tax obligations as determined under State law. For purposes of this
section, State income tax obligation includes any local income tax administered by the chief tax administration agency of the
State.
Tax refund offset means withholding or reducing a tax refund overpayment by an amount necessary to satisfy a debt owed
by the payee(s).
Tax refund payment means any overpayment of Federal taxes to be refunded to the person making the overpayment after
the IRS makes the appropriate credits as provided in 26 U.S.C. 6402(a) and 26 CFR 6402-3(a)(6)(i) for any liabilities for any
Federal tax on the part of the person who made the overpayment.
Unemployment compensation debt has the same meaning as the term “covered unemployment debt” as defined in 26
U.S.C. 6402(f)(4), and means—
(1) A past-due debt for erroneous payment of unemployment compensation due to fraud or the person's failure to report
earnings which has become final under the law of a State certified by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 3304 and
which remains uncollected;
(2) Contributions due to the unemployment fund of a State for which the State has determined the person to be liable and
which remain uncollected; and
(3) Any penalties and interest assessed on such debt.
(b) General rule. (1) Fiscal Service will offset tax refunds to collect debt under this section in accordance with 26 U.S.C.
6402(e) and (f) and this section.
(2) Fiscal Service will compare tax refund payment records, as certified by the IRS, with records of debts submitted to
Fiscal Service. A match will occur when the taxpayer identifying number (as that term is used in 26 U.S.C. 6109) and name on
a payment certification record are the same as the taxpayer identifying number and name (or derivative of the name) on a
delinquent debt record. When a match occurs and all other requirements for tax refund offset have been met, Fiscal Service will
reduce the amount of any tax refund payment payable to a debtor by the amount of any past-due, legally enforceable State
income tax obligation or unemployment compensation debt owed by the debtor. Any amounts not offset will be paid to the
payee(s) listed in the payment certification record.
(3) Fiscal Service will only offset a tax refund payment for a State income tax obligation if the address shown on the
Federal tax return for the taxable year of the overpayment is an address within the State seeking the offset.
(c) Notification of past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligations or unemployment compensation debts—(1)
Notification. States shall notify Fiscal Service of debts in the manner and format prescribed by Fiscal Service. The notification of
liability must be accompanied by a certification that the debt is past due and legally enforceable and that the State has complied
with the requirements contained in paragraph (c)(3) of this section and with all Federal or State requirements applicable to the
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collection of debts under this section. With respect to State income tax obligations only, the certification must specifically state
that none of the debts submitted for collection by offset are debts owed by an individual who has claimed immunity from State
taxation by reason of being an enrolled member of an Indian tribe who lives on a reservation and derives all of his or her
income from that reservation unless such claim has been adjudicated de novo on its merits in accordance with paragraph (c)(3).
Fiscal Service may reject a notification that does not comply with the requirements of this section. Upon notification of the
rejection and the reason for rejection, the State may resubmit a corrected notification.
(2) Minimum amount of past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligations that may be submitted. Fiscal Service
only will accept notification of past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligations of $25 or more or such higher amounts
as determined by Fiscal Service. States will be notified annually of any changes in the minimum debt amount.
(3)(i) Advance notification to the debtor of the State's intent to collect by Federal tax refund offset. The State is required to
provide a written notification to the debtor informing the debtor that the State intends to refer the debt for collection by tax refund
offset. The notice must give the debtor at least 60 days to present evidence, in accordance with procedures established by the
State, that all or part of the debt is not past due or not legally enforceable, or, in the case of a covered unemployment
compensation debt, the debt is not due to fraud or the debtor's failure to report earnings. In the case of a State income tax
obligation, the notice must be sent certified mail, return receipt requested.
(ii) Determination. The State must, in accordance with procedures established by the State, consider any evidence
presented by a debtor in response to the notice described in paragraph (c)(3)(i) of this section and determine whether an
amount of such debt is past due and legally enforceable and, in the case of a covered unemployment compensation debt, the
debt is due to fraud or the debtor's failure to report earnings. With respect to State income tax obligations only, where the debtor
claims that he or she is immune from State taxation by reason of being an enrolled member of an Indian tribe who lives on a
reservation and derives all of his or her income from that reservation, State procedures shall include de novo review on the
merits, unless such claims have been previously adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction. States shall, upon request
from the Secretary of the Treasury, make such procedures available to the Secretary of the Treasury for review.
(iii) Reasonable efforts. Prior to submitting a debt to Fiscal Service for collection by tax refund offset the State must make
reasonable efforts to collect the debt. Reasonable efforts include making written demand on the debtor for payment and
complying with any other prerequisites to offset established by the State.
(4) Correcting and updating notification. The State shall, in the manner and in the time frames provided by Fiscal Service,
notify Fiscal Service of any deletion or decrease in the amount of past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligation or
unemployment compensation debt referred to Fiscal Service for collection by tax refund offset. The State may notify Fiscal
Service of any increases in the amount of the debt referred to Fiscal Service for collection by tax refund offset provided that the
State has complied with the requirements of paragraph (c)(3) of this section with regard to those debts.
(d) Priorities for offset. (1) As provided in 26 U.S.C. 6402, a tax refund payment shall be reduced first by the amount of any
past-due support being enforced under section 464 of the Social Security Act which is to be offset under 26 U.S.C. 6402(c);
second by the amount of any past-due, legally enforceable debt owed to a Federal agency which is to be offset under 26 U.S.C.
6402(d); and third by any past-due, legally enforceable debt owed to a State (other than past-due support) which is to be offset
under 26 U.S.C. 6402(e) or 26 U.S.C. 6402(f).
(2) Reduction of the tax refund payment pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6402(a), (c), (d), (e) and (f) shall occur prior to crediting the
overpayment to any future liability for an internal revenue tax. Any amount remaining after tax refund offset under 26 U.S.C.
6402(a), (c), (d), (e) and (f) shall be refunded to the taxpayer, or applied to estimated tax, if elected by the taxpayer pursuant to
IRS regulations.
(3) If Fiscal Service receives notice from a State of more than one debt subject to this section that is owed by a debtor to
the State, any overpayment by the debtor shall be applied against such debts in the order in which such debts accrued.
(e) Post-offset notice. (1) When an offset occurs, Fiscal Service shall notify the debtor in writing of:
(i) The amount and date of the offset and that the purpose of the offset was to satisfy a past-due, legally enforceable State
income tax obligation or unemployment compensation debt;
(ii) The State to which this amount has been paid or credited; and
(iii) A contact point within the State that will handle concerns or questions regarding the offset.
(2) The notice in paragraph (e)(1) of this section also will advise any non-debtor spouse who may have filed a joint return
with the debtor of the steps which the non-debtor spouse may take in order to secure his or her proper share of the tax refund.
See paragraph (f) of this section.
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(3) Fiscal Service will advise States of the names, mailing addresses, and taxpayer identifying numbers of the debtors from
whom amounts of State income tax obligations or unemployment compensation debts were collected, and of the amounts
collected from each debtor through tax refund offset.
(4) At least weekly, Fiscal Service will notify the IRS of the names and taxpayer identifying numbers of the debtors from
whom amounts owed for past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligations or unemployment compensation debts were
collected from tax refund offsets and the amounts collected from each debtor.
(f) Offset made with regard to a tax refund payment based upon joint return. If the person filing a joint return with a debtor
owing the past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligation or unemployment compensation debt takes appropriate
action to secure his or her proper share of a tax refund from which an offset was made, the IRS will pay the person his or her
share of the refund and request that Fiscal Service deduct that amount from future amounts payable to the State or that Fiscal
Service otherwise obtain the funds back from the State. Fiscal Service, or the appropriate State, will adjust their debtor records
accordingly.
(g) Disposition of amounts collected. Fiscal Service will transmit amounts collected for debts, less fees charged under
paragraph (h) of this section, to the appropriate State. If Fiscal Service learns that an erroneous offset payment is made to any
State, Fiscal Service will notify the appropriate State that an erroneous offset payment has been made. Fiscal Service may
deduct the amount of the erroneous offset payment from future amounts payable to the State. Alternatively, upon Fiscal Service'
request, the State shall return promptly to the affected taxpayer or Fiscal Service an amount equal to the amount of the
erroneous payment (unless the State previously has paid such amounts, or any portion of such amounts, to the affected
taxpayer). States shall notify Fiscal Service any time a State returns an erroneous offset payment to an affected taxpayer. Fiscal
Service, or the appropriate State, will adjust their debtor records accordingly.
(h) Fees. The State will pay a fee to Fiscal Service to cover the full cost of offsets taken. The fee will be established
annually in such amount as Fiscal Service determines to be sufficient to reimburse Fiscal Service for the full cost of the offset
procedure. Fiscal Service will deduct the fees from amounts collected prior to disposition and transmit a portion of the fees
deducted to reimburse the IRS for its share of the cost of administering the tax refund offset program for purposes of collecting
past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligations or unemployment compensation debts reported to Fiscal Service by
the States. Fees will be charged only for actual tax refund offsets completed.
(i) Review of tax refund offsets. In accordance with 26 U.S.C. 6402(g), any reduction of a taxpayer's refund made pursuant
to 26 U.S.C. 6402(e) or (f) shall not be subject to review by any court of the United States or by the Secretary of the Treasury,
Fiscal Service or IRS in an administrative proceeding. No action brought against the United States to recover the amount of this
reduction shall be considered to be a suit for refund of tax. This subsection does not preclude any legal, equitable, or
administrative action against the State to which the amount of such reduction was paid.
(j) Access to and use of confidential tax information. Access to and use of confidential tax information in connection with
the tax refund offset program is permitted to the extent necessary in establishing appropriate agency records, locating any
person with respect to whom a reduction under 26 U.S.C. 6402(e) or (f) is sought for purposes of collecting the debt, and in the
defense of any litigation or administrative procedure ensuing from a reduction made under section 6402(e) or (f).
[64 FR 71231, Dec. 20, 1999, as amended at 74 FR 27433, June 10, 2009; 76 FR 5071, Jan. 28, 2011]
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Subpart B—Authorities Other Than Offset
Back to Top
§285.11 Administrative wage garnishment.
(a) Purpose. This section provides procedures for Federal agencies to collect money from a debtor's disposable pay by
means of administrative wage garnishment to satisfy delinquent nontax debt owed to the United States.
(b) Scope. (1) This section applies to any Federal agency that administers a program that gives rise to a delinquent nontax
debt owed to the United States and to any agency that pursues recovery of such debt.
(2) This section shall apply notwithstanding any provision of State law.
(3) Nothing in this section precludes the compromise of a debt or the suspension or termination of collection action in
accordance with applicable law. See, for example, the Federal Claims Collection Standards (FCCS), 31 CFR parts 900-904.
(4) The receipt of payments pursuant to this section does not preclude a Federal agency from pursuing other debt
collection remedies, including the offset of Federal payments to satisfy delinquent nontax debt owed to the United States. A
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Federal agency may pursue such debt collection remedies separately or in conjunction with administrative wage garnishment.
(5) This section does not apply to the collection of delinquent nontax debt owed to the United States from the wages of
Federal employees from their Federal employment. Federal pay is subject to the Federal salary offset procedures set forth in 5
U.S.C. 5514 and other applicable laws.
(6) Nothing in this section requires agencies to duplicate notices or administrative proceedings required by contract or other
laws or regulations.
(c) Definitions. As used in this section the following definitions shall apply:
Agency means a department, agency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the executive, judicial, or
legislative branch of the Federal Government, including government corporations. For purposes of this section, agency means
either the agency that administers the program that gave rise to the debt or the agency that pursues recovery of the debt.
Business day means Monday through Friday. For purposes of computation, the last day of the period will be included
unless it is a Federal legal holiday.
Day means calendar day. For purposes of computation, the last day of the period will be included unless it is a Saturday, a
Sunday, or a Federal legal holiday.
Debt or claim means any amount of money, funds or property that has been determined by an appropriate official of the
Federal Government to be owed to the United States by an individual, including debt administered by a third party as an agent
for the Federal Government.
Debtor means an individual who owes a delinquent nontax debt to the United States.
Delinquent nontax debt means any nontax debt that has not been paid by the date specified in the agency's initial written
demand for payment, or applicable agreement, unless other satisfactory payment arrangements have been made. For
purposes of this section, the terms “debt” and “claim” are synonymous and refer to delinquent nontax debt.
Disposable pay means that part of the debtor's compensation (including, but not limited to, salary, bonuses, commissions,
and vacation pay) from an employer remaining after the deduction of health insurance premiums and any amounts required by
law to be withheld. For purposes of this section, “amounts required by law to be withheld” include amounts for deductions such
as social security taxes and withholding taxes, but do not include any amount withheld pursuant to a court order.
Employer means a person or entity that employs the services of others and that pays their wages or salaries. The term
employer includes, but is not limited to, State and local Governments, but does not include an agency of the Federal
Government.
Evidence of service means information retained by the agency indicating the nature of the document to which it pertains,
the date of mailing of the document, and to whom the document is being sent. Evidence of service may be retained
electronically so long as the manner of retention is sufficient for evidentiary purposes.
Garnishment means the process of withholding amounts from an employee's disposable pay and the paying of those
amounts to a creditor in satisfaction of a withholding order.
Withholding order means any order for withholding or garnishment of pay issued by an agency, or judicial or administrative
body. For purposes of this section, the terms “wage garnishment order” and “garnishment order” have the same meaning as
“withholding order.”
(d) General rule. Whenever an agency determines that a delinquent debt is owed by an individual, the agency may initiate
proceedings administratively to garnish the wages of the delinquent debtor.
(e) Notice requirements. (1) At least 30 days before the initiation of garnishment proceedings, the agency shall mail, by first
class mail, to the debtor's last known address a written notice informing the debtor of:
(i) The nature and amount of the debt;
(ii) The intention of the agency to initiate proceedings to collect the debt through deductions from pay until the debt and all
accumulated interest, penalties and administrative costs are paid in full; and
(iii) An explanation of the debtor's rights, including those set forth in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, and the time frame
within which the debtor may exercise his or her rights.
(2) The debtor shall be afforded the opportunity:
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(i) To inspect and copy agency records related to the debt;
(ii) To enter into a written repayment agreement with the agency under terms agreeable to the agency; and
(iii) For a hearing in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section concerning the existence or the amount of the debt or the
terms of the proposed repayment schedule under the garnishment order. However, the debtor is not entitled to a hearing
concerning the terms of the proposed repayment schedule if these terms have been established by written agreement under
paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of this section.
(3) The agency will retain evidence of service indicating the date of mailing of the notice.
(f) Hearing—(1) In general. Agencies shall prescribe regulations for the conduct of administrative wage garnishment
hearings consistent with this section or shall adopt this section without change by reference.
(2) Request for hearing. The agency shall provide a hearing, which at the agency's option may be oral or written, if the
debtor submits a written request for a hearing concerning the existence or amount of the debt or the terms of the repayment
schedule (for repayment schedules established other than by written agreement under paragraph (e)(2)(ii)) of this section.
(3) Type of hearing or review. (i) For purposes of this section, whenever an agency is required to afford a debtor a hearing,
the agency shall provide the debtor with a reasonable opportunity for an oral hearing when the agency determines that the
issues in dispute cannot be resolved by review of the documentary evidence, for example, when the validity of the claim turns
on the issue of credibility or veracity.
(ii) If the agency determines that an oral hearing is appropriate, the time and location of the hearing shall be established by
the agency. An oral hearing may, at the debtor's option, be conducted either in-person or by telephone conference. All travel
expenses incurred by the debtor in connection with an in-person hearing will be borne by the debtor. All telephonic charges
incurred during the hearing will be the responsibility of the agency.
(iii) In those cases when an oral hearing is not required by this section, an agency shall nevertheless accord the debtor a
“paper hearing,” that is, an agency will decide the issues in dispute based upon a review of the written record. The agency will
establish a reasonable deadline for the submission of evidence.
(4) Effect of timely request. Subject to paragraph (f)(13) of this section, if the debtor's written request is received by the
agency on or before the 15th business day following the mailing of the notice described in paragraph (e)(1) of this section, the
agency shall not issue a withholding order under paragraph (g) of this section until the debtor has been provided the requested
hearing and a decision in accordance with paragraphs (f)(10) and (f)(11) of this section has been rendered.
(5) Failure to timely request a hearing. If the debtor's written request is received by the agency after the 15th business day
following the mailing of the notice described in paragraph (e)(1) of this section, the agency shall provide a hearing to the debtor.
However, the agency will not delay issuance of a withholding order unless the agency determines that the delay in filing the
request was caused by factors over which the debtor had no control, or the agency receives information that the agency
believes justifies a delay or cancellation of the withholding order.
(6) Hearing official. A hearing official may be any qualified individual, as determined by the head of the agency, including an
administrative law judge.
(7) Procedure. After the debtor requests a hearing, the hearing official shall notify the debtor of:
(i) The date and time of a telephonic hearing;
(ii) The date, time, and location of an in-person oral hearing; or
(iii) The deadline for the submission of evidence for a written hearing.
(8) Burden of proof. (i) The agency will have the burden of going forward to prove the existence or amount of the debt.
(ii) Thereafter, if the debtor disputes the existence or amount of the debt, the debtor must present by a preponderance of
the evidence that no debt exists or that the amount of the debt is incorrect. In addition, the debtor may present evidence that the
terms of the repayment schedule are unlawful, would cause a financial hardship to the debtor, or that collection of the debt may
not be pursued due to operation of law.
(9) Record. The hearing official must maintain a summary record of any hearing provided under this section. A hearing is
not required to be a formal evidentiary-type hearing, however, witnesses who testify in oral hearings will do so under oath or
affirmation.
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(10) Date of decision. The hearing official shall issue a written opinion stating his or her decision, as soon as practicable,
but not later than sixty (60) days after the date on which the request for such hearing was received by the agency. If an agency
is unable to provide the debtor with a hearing and render a decision within 60 days after the receipt of the request for such
hearing:
(i) The agency may not issue a withholding order until the hearing is held and a decision rendered; or
(ii) If the agency had previously issued a withholding order to the debtor's employer, the agency must suspend the
withholding order beginning on the 61st day after the receipt of the hearing request and continuing until a hearing is held and a
decision is rendered.
(11) Content of decision. The written decision shall include:
(i) A summary of the facts presented;
(ii) The hearing official's findings, analysis and conclusions; and
(iii) The terms of any repayment schedules, if applicable.
(12) Final agency action. The hearing official's decision will be the final agency action for the purposes of judicial review
under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 701 et seq.).
(13) Failure to appear. In the absence of good cause shown, a debtor who fails to appear at a hearing scheduled pursuant
to paragraph (f)(4) of this section will be deemed as not having timely filed a request for a hearing.
(g) Wage garnishment order. (1) Unless the agency receives information that the agency believes justifies a delay or
cancellation of the withholding order, the agency should send, by first class mail, a withholding order to the debtor's employer:
(i) Within 30 days after the debtor fails to make a timely request for a hearing (i.e., within 15 business days after the mailing
of the notice described in paragraph (e)(1) of this section), or,
(ii) If a timely request for a hearing is made by the debtor, within 30 days after a final decision is made by the agency to
proceed with garnishment, or,
(iii) As soon as reasonably possible thereafter.
(2) The withholding order sent to the employer under paragraph (g)(1) of this section shall be in a form prescribed by the
Secretary of the Treasury. The withholding order shall contain the signature of, or the image of the signature of, the head of the
agency or his/her delegatee. The order shall contain only the information necessary for the employer to comply with the
withholding order. Such information includes the debtor's name, address, and social security number, as well as instructions for
withholding and information as to where payments should be sent.
(3) The agency will retain evidence of service indicating the date of mailing of the order.
(h) Certification by employer. Along with the withholding order, the agency shall send to the employer a certification in a
form prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. The employer shall complete and return the certification to the agency within
the time frame prescribed in the instructions to the form. The certification will address matters such as information about the
debtor's employment status and disposable pay available for withholding.
(i) Amounts withheld. (1) After receipt of the garnishment order issued under this section, the employer shall deduct from all
disposable pay paid to the applicable debtor during each pay period the amount of garnishment described in paragraph (i)(2) of
this section.
(2)(i) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (i)(3) and (i)(4) of this section, the amount of garnishment shall be the lesser
of:
(A) The amount indicated on the garnishment order up to 15% of the debtor's disposable pay; or
(B) The amount set forth in 15 U.S.C. 1673(a)(2) (Restriction on Garnishment). The amount set forth at 15 U.S.C. 1673(a)
(2) is the amount by which a debtor's disposable pay exceeds an amount equivalent to thirty times the minimum wage. See 29
CFR 870.10.
(3) When a debtor's pay is subject to withholding orders with priority the following shall apply:
(i) Unless otherwise provided by Federal law, withholding orders issued under this section shall be paid in the amounts set
forth under paragraph (i)(2) of this section and shall have priority over other withholding orders which are served later in time.
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, withholding orders for family support shall have priority over withholding orders issued under this
section.
(ii) If amounts are being withheld from a debtor's pay pursuant to a withholding order served on an employer before a
withholding order issued pursuant to this section, or if a withholding order for family support is served on an employer at any
time, the amounts withheld pursuant to the withholding order issued under this section shall be the lesser of:
(A) The amount calculated under paragraph (i)(2) of this section, or
(B) An amount equal to 25% of the debtor's disposable pay less the amount(s) withheld under the withholding order(s) with
priority.
(iii) If a debtor owes more than one debt to an agency, the agency may issue multiple withholding orders provided that the
total amount garnished from the debtor's pay for such orders does not exceed the amount set forth in paragraph (i)(2) of this
section. For purposes of this paragraph (i)(3)(iii), the term agency refers to the agency that is owed the debt.
(4) An amount greater than that set forth in paragraphs (i)(2) and (i)(3) of this section may be withheld upon the written
consent of debtor.
(5) The employer shall promptly pay to the agency all amounts withheld in accordance with the withholding order issued
pursuant to this section.
(6) An employer shall not be required to vary its normal pay and disbursement cycles in order to comply with the
withholding order.
(7) Any assignment or allotment by an employee of his earnings shall be void to the extent it interferes with or prohibits
execution of the withholding order issued under this section, except for any assignment or allotment made pursuant to a family
support judgment or order.
(8) The employer shall withhold the appropriate amount from the debtor's wages for each pay period until the employer
receives notification from the agency to discontinue wage withholding. The garnishment order shall indicate a reasonable period
of time within which the employer is required to commence wage withholding.
(j) Exclusions from garnishment. The agency may not garnish the wages of a debtor who it knows has been involuntarily
separated from employment until the debtor has been reemployed continuously for at least 12 months. The debtor has the
burden of informing the agency of the circumstances surrounding an involuntary separation from employment.
(k) Financial hardship. (1) A debtor whose wages are subject to a wage withholding order under this section, may, at any
time, request a review by the agency of the amount garnished, based on materially changed circumstances such as disability,
divorce, or catastrophic illness which result in financial hardship.
(2) A debtor requesting a review under paragraph (k)(1) of this section shall submit the basis for claiming that the current
amount of garnishment results in a financial hardship to the debtor, along with supporting documentation. Agencies shall
consider any information submitted in accordance with procedures and standards established by the agency.
(3) If a financial hardship is found, the agency shall downwardly adjust, by an amount and for a period of time agreeable to
the agency, the amount garnished to reflect the debtor's financial condition. The agency will notify the employer of any
adjustments to the amounts to be withheld.
(l) Ending garnishment. (1) Once the agency has fully recovered the amounts owed by the debtor, including interest,
penalties, and administrative costs consistent with the FCCS, the agency shall send the debtor's employer notification to
discontinue wage withholding.
(2) At least annually, an agency shall review its debtors' accounts to ensure that garnishment has been terminated for
accounts that have been paid in full.
(m) Actions prohibited by the employer. An employer may not discharge, refuse to employ, or take disciplinary action
against the debtor due to the issuance of a withholding order under this section.
(n) Refunds. (1) If a hearing official, at a hearing held pursuant to paragraph (f)(3) of this section, determines that a debt is
not legally due and owing to the United States, the agency shall promptly refund any amount collected by means of
administrative wage garnishment.
(2) Unless required by Federal law or contract, refunds under this section shall not bear interest.
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(o) Right of action. The agency may sue any employer for any amount that the employer fails to withhold from wages owed
and payable to an employee in accordance with paragraphs (g) and (i) of this section. However, a suit may not be filed before
the termination of the collection action involving a particular debtor, unless earlier filing is necessary to avoid expiration of any
applicable statute of limitations period. For purposes of this section, “termination of the collection action” occurs when the
agency has terminated collection action in accordance with the FCCS or other applicable standards. In any event, termination
of the collection action will have been deemed to occur if the agency has not received any payments to satisfy the debt from the
particular debtor whose wages were subject to garnishment, in whole or in part, for a period of one (1) year.
[63 FR 25139, May 6, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 22908, Apr. 28, 1999; 66 FR 51868, Oct. 11, 2001]
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§285.12 Transfer of debts to Treasury for collection.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
Agency means a department, agency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the executive, judicial, or
legislative branch of the Federal Government, including government corporations.
Creditor agency means any Federal agency that is owed a debt.
Debt means any amount of money, funds or property that has been determined by an appropriate official of the Federal
government to be owed to the United States by a person. As used in this section, the term “debt” does not include debts arising
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Debt collection center means an agency or a unit or subagency within an agency that has been designated by the
Secretary of the Treasury to collect debt owed to the United States. Fiscal Service is a debt collection center.
Fiscal Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
Person means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization, State or local government, or any other
type of entity other than a Federal agency.
Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury.
(b) In general. Cross-servicing means that Fiscal Service or another debt collection center is taking appropriate debt
collection action on behalf of one or more Federal agencies or a unit or subagency thereof.
(c) Mandatory transfer of debts to Fiscal Service. (1) Except as set forth in paragraph (d) of this section, a creditor agency
shall transfer any debt that is more than 180 days delinquent to Fiscal Service for debt collection services. Agencies that
transfer delinquent debts to Fiscal Service for the purposes of debt collection and that rely on Fiscal Service to submit the
transferred debts for administrative offset on the agency's behalf must transfer the debts to Fiscal Service no later than 120
days after the debts become delinquent in order to satisfy the 120-day notice requirement for purposes of administrative offset.
For accounting and reporting purposes, the debt remains on the books and records of the agency which transferred the debt.
(2) On behalf of the creditor agency, Fiscal Service will take appropriate action to collect or compromise the transferred
debt, or to suspend or terminate collection action thereon, in accordance with the statutory and regulatory requirements and
authorities applicable to the debt and the action. Appropriate action to collect a debt may include referral to another debt
collection center, a private collection contractor, or the Department of Justice for litigation. The creditor agency shall advise
Fiscal Service, in writing, of any specific statutory or regulatory requirements pertaining to their debt and will agree, in writing, to
a collection strategy which includes parameters for entering into compromise and repayments agreements with debtors.
(3)(i) A debt is considered delinquent for purposes of this section if it is past due and is legally enforceable. A debt is pastdue if it has not been paid by the date specified in the agency's initial written demand for payment or applicable agreement or
instrument (including a post-delinquency payment agreement) unless other satisfactory payment arrangements have been
made. A debt is legally enforceable if there has been a final agency determination that the debt, in the amount stated, is due
and there are no legal bars to collection action. Where, for example, a debt is the subject of a pending administrative review
process required by statute or regulation and collection action during the review process is prohibited, the debt is not
considered legally enforceable for purposes of mandatory transfer to Fiscal Service and is not to be transferred even if the debt
is more than 180 days past-due.
(ii) When a final agency determination is made after an administrative appeal or review process, the creditor agency must
transfer such debt to Fiscal Service, if more than 180 days delinquent, within 30 days after the date of the final decision.
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(iii) Nothing in this section is intended to impact the date of delinquency of a debt for other purposes such as for purposes
of accruing interest and penalties.
(4) Agencies are not required to transfer to Fiscal Service debts which are less than $25 (including interest, penalties, and
administrative costs), or such other amount as Fiscal Service may determine. Agencies may transfer debts less than $25 to
Fiscal Service if the creditor agency, in consultation with Fiscal Service, determines that transfer is important to ensure
compliance with the agency's policies or programs. Agencies may combine individual debts of less than $25 owed by the same
debtor for purposes of meeting the $25 threshold.
(d) Exceptions to mandatory transfer. (1) A creditor agency is not required to transfer a debt to Fiscal Service pursuant to
paragraph (c)(1) of this section only during such period of time that the debt:
(i) Is in litigation or foreclosure as described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section;
(ii) Is scheduled for sale as described in paragraph (d)(3) of this section;
(iii) Is at a private collection contractor if the debt has been referred to a private collection contractor in accordance with
paragraph (e) of this section;
(iv) Is at a debt collection center if the debt has been referred to a Treasury-designated debt collection center in
accordance with paragraph (f) of this section;
(v) Is being collected by internal offset as described in paragraph (d)(4) of this section; or
(vi) Is covered by an exemption granted by the Secretary as described in paragraph (d)(5) of this section.
(2)(i) A debt is in litigation if:
(A) The debt has been referred to the Attorney General for litigation by the creditor agency; or
(B) The debt is the subject of proceedings pending in a court of competent jurisdiction, including bankruptcy proceedings,
whether initiated by the creditor agency, the debtor, or any other party.
(ii) A debt is in foreclosure if:
(A)(1) Collateral securing the debt is the subject of judicial foreclosure proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction; or
(2) Notice has been issued that collateral securing the debt will be foreclosed upon, liquidated, sold, or otherwise
transferred pursuant to applicable law in a nonjudicial proceeding; and
(B) The creditor agency anticipates that proceeds will be available from the liquidation of the collateral for application to the
debt.
(3) A debt is scheduled for sale if:
(i) The debt will be disposed of under an asset sales program within one (1) year after becoming eligible for sale; or
(ii) The debt will be disposed of under an asset sales program and a schedule established by the creditor agency and
approved by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
(4) A debt is being collected by internal offset if a creditor agency expects the debt to be collected in full within three (3)
years from the date of delinquency through internal offset. A debt is being collected by internal offset if the creditor agency is
withholding funds payable to the debtor by the creditor agency, or if the creditor agency has issued notice to the debtor of the
creditor agency's intent to offset such funds.
(5)(i) Upon the written request of the head of an agency, or as the Secretary may determine on his/her own initiative, the
Secretary may exempt any class of debts from the application of the requirement described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.
In determining whether to exempt a class of debts, the Secretary will determine whether exemption is in the best interests of the
Government after considering the following factors:
(A) Whether an exemption is the best means to protect the government's financial interest, taking into consideration the
number, dollar amount, age and collection rates of the debts for which exemption is requested;
(B) Whether the nature of the program under which the delinquencies have arisen is such that the transfer of such debts
would interfere with program goals; and
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(C) Whether an exemption would be consistent with the purposes of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA),
Pub. L. 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321-358 (April 26, 1996).
(ii) Requests for exemptions must clearly identify the class of debts for which an exemption is sought and must explain how
application of the factors listed above to that class of debts warrants an exemption.
(iii) Requests for exemption must be made by the head of the agency requesting the exemption, the Chief Financial Officer
of the agency, or the Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the agency. For purposes of this section, the head of an agency does not
include the head of a subordinate organization within a department or agency.
(6) In accordance with paragraph (d)(5)(i) of this section, debts being serviced and/or collected in accordance with
applicable statutes and/or regulations by third parties, such as private lenders or guaranty agencies are exempt from the
requirements in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.
(e) Schedule of private collection contractors. Fiscal Service will maintain a schedule of private collection contractors
eligible for referral of debts from Fiscal Service, other debt collection centers, and creditor agencies for collection action. An
agency with debt which has not been transferred to Fiscal Service or referred to another debt collection center, for example,
debt that is less than 180 days delinquent, may refer such debt to a private collection contractor listed on Fiscal Service'
schedule of private collection contractors provided they do so in accordance with procedures established by Fiscal Service.
Alternatively, an agency may refer debt that is less than 180 days delinquent to a private collection contractor pursuant to a
contract between the creditor agency and the private collection contractor, as authorized by law.
(f) Debt collection centers. A creditor agency may transfer debt that has not been transferred to Fiscal Service, such as
debt less than 180 days delinquent, to a Treasury-designated debt collection center, with the consent of, and in accordance with
procedures established by Fiscal Service. Debt collection centers will take action upon a debt in accordance with the statutory
or regulatory requirements and other authorities that apply to the debt or to the particular action being taken. Debt collection
centers may, on behalf of the creditor agency and subject to the terms under which the debt collection center has been
designated as such by the Secretary, take any action to collect, compromise, suspend or terminate collection action on debts, in
accordance with terms and conditions agreed upon in writing by the creditor agency and the debt collection center or Fiscal
Service. Debt collection centers may charge fees for the debt collection services in accordance with the provisions of paragraph
(j) of this section.
(g) Administrative offset. As described in paragraph (c) of this section, under the DCIA, agencies are required to transfer all
debts over 180 days delinquent to Fiscal Service for purposes of debt collection (i.e., cross-servicing). Agencies are also
required, under the DCIA, to notify the Secretary of all debts over 120 days delinquent for purposes of administrative offset.
Administrative offset is one type of collection tool used by Fiscal Service and Treasury-designated debt collection centers to
collect debts transferred under this section. Thus, by transferring debt to Fiscal Service or to a Treasury-designated debt
collection center under this section, Federal agencies will satisfy the requirement to notify the Secretary of debts for purposes of
administrative offset and duplicate referrals are not required. Agencies relying on Fiscal Service to submit debts for
administrative offset on the agency's behalf must transfer the debts to Fiscal Service no later than 120 days after the debts
become delinquent in order to satisfy the 120-day notice requirement for purposes of administrative offset. A debt which is not
transferred to Fiscal Service for purposes of debt collection, however, such as a debt which falls within one of the exempt
categories listed in paragraph (d) of this section, nevertheless may be subject to the DCIA requirement of notification to the
Secretary for purposes of administrative offset.
(h) Voluntary referral of debts less than 180 days delinquent. A creditor agency may refer any debt that is less than 180
days delinquent to Fiscal Service or, with the consent of Fiscal Service, to a Treasury-designated debt collection center for debt
collection services.
(i) Certification. Before a debt may be transferred to Fiscal Service or another debt collection center, the head of the
creditor agency or his or her delegatee must certify, in writing, that the debts being transferred are valid, legally enforceable,
and that there are no legal bars to collection. Creditor agencies must also certify that they have complied with all prerequisites
to a particular collection action under the laws, regulations or policies applicable to the agency unless the creditor agency has
requested, and Fiscal Service has agreed, to do so on the creditor agency's behalf. The creditor agency shall notify Fiscal
Service immediately of any change in the status of the legal enforceability of the debt, for example, if the creditor agency
receives notice that the debtor has filed for bankruptcy protection.
(j) Fees. Fiscal Service and other debt collection centers (as defined in paragraph (a) of this section) may charge fees
sufficient to cover the full cost of providing debt collection services authorized by this section. Fees paid to recover amounts
owed may not exceed amounts collected. Nothing in this rule precludes a creditor agency from agreeing to pay fees for debt
collection services which are not based on amounts collected. Fiscal Service and debt collection centers are authorized to
retain fees from amounts collected and may deposit and use such fees in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3711(g). Fees charged by
Fiscal Service and other debt collection centers may be added to the debt as an administrative cost if authorized under 31
U.S.C. 3717(e).
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[63 FR 16356, Apr. 2, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 22908, Apr. 28, 1999; 81 FR 1319, Jan. 12, 2016]
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§285.13 Barring delinquent debtors from obtaining Federal loans or loan insurance or guarantees.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
Agency means a department, agency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the executive, judicial, or
legislative branch of the Federal Government, including government corporations.
Creditor agency means any Federal agency that is owed a debt.
Debt means any amount of money, funds or property that has been determined by an appropriate official of the Federal
Government to be owed to the United States or an agency thereof by a person, including debt administered by a third party as
an agent for the Federal Government.
Federal financial assistance or financial assistance means any Federal loan (other than a disaster loan), loan insurance, or
loan guarantee.
Fiscal Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
Nontax debt means any debt other than a debt under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).
Person means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization, State or local government, or any other
type of entity other than a Federal agency.
Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury.
(b) Purpose and scope. (1) This section prescribes standards for determining whether an outstanding nontax debt owed to
the Federal Government is in delinquent status and whether such delinquency is resolved for the purpose of denying Federal
financial assistance to a debtor. In addition, this section prescribes the circumstances under which the Secretary may exempt a
class of debts from affecting a debtor's loan eligibility. This section also outlines the factors an agency should consider when
determining whether waiver of the general rule in paragraph (c) of this section is appropriate.
(2) Additional guidance concerning debt collection and debt management is provided in “Managing Federal Receivables”
and other Fiscal Service publications.
(3) Nothing in this section requires an agency to grant Federal financial assistance if denial otherwise is authorized by
statute, regulation, or agency policies and procedures. For example, if an agency requires borrowers to have a satisfactory
credit history, the agency may deny financial assistance even if a delinquent debt has been resolved.
(4) This section does not confer any new rights or benefits on persons seeking Federal financial assistance.
(5) This section applies to any person owing delinquent nontax debt and to any agency that administers a program that
grants Federal financial assistance.
(c) General rule. (1) As required by the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3720B, a person owing an outstanding nontax debt that is in
delinquent status shall not be eligible for Federal financial assistance. This eligibility requirement applies to all persons seeking
Federal financial assistance and owing an outstanding nontax debt in delinquent status, including, but not limited to, guarantors.
This eligibility requirement applies to all Federal financial assistance even if creditworthiness or credit history is not otherwise a
factor for eligibility purposes, e.g., student loans. A person may be eligible for Federal financial assistance only after the
delinquency is resolved in accordance with this section. An agency may waive this eligibility requirement in accordance with
paragraph (g) of this section.
(2) An agency from which a person seeks Federal financial assistance may determine, under standards issued by the
agency, that a person is ineligible for Federal financial assistance under this section if:
(i) The person is controlled by a person owing an outstanding nontax debt that is in delinquent status (e.g., a corporation is
controlled by an officer, director, or shareholder who owes a debt); or
(ii) The person controls a person owing an outstanding nontax debt that is in delinquent status (e.g., a corporation controls
a wholly-owned or partially-owned subsidiary which owes a debt).
(3) A creditor agency may obtain information concerning whether or not a person seeking Federal financial assistance
owes a delinquent debt from, among other sources, credit reports, information contained on credit applications, and the
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Department of Housing and Urban Development's Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response System (CAIVRS). For information
about participating in the CAIVRS program, agencies should contact the Director of Information Resources Management, Policy
and Management Division, Office of Information Technology, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street,
S.W., Washington, DC 20410.
(d) Delinquent status. (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, a debt is in “delinquent status”
for purposes of this section if the debt has not been paid within 90 days of the payment due date. The payment due date is the
date specified in the creditor agency's initial written demand for payment or applicable agreement or instrument (including a
post-delinquency repayment agreement).
(2) For purposes of this section, a debt is not in delinquent status if:
(i) The person seeking Federal financial assistance has been released by the creditor agency from any obligation to pay
the debt, or there has been an adjudication or determination that such person does not owe or does not have to pay the debt;
(ii) The debtor is the subject of, or has been discharged in, a bankruptcy proceeding, and if applicable, the person seeking
Federal financial assistance is current on any court authorized repayment plan; or
(iii) The existence of the debt or the agency's determination that the debt is delinquent is being challenged under an
ongoing administrative appeal or contested judicial proceeding and the appeal was filed by the debtor in a timely manner.
Unless otherwise prohibited, an agency may defer making a determination as to whether or not to extend credit until the appeal
process is completed.
(3) Unless the provisions of paragraph (d)(2) apply, a debt is in delinquent status even if the creditor agency has
suspended or terminated collection activity with respect to such debt. For example, a delinquent nontax debt that has been
written off the books of the creditor agency or reported to the Internal Revenue Service as discharged (i.e., canceled) is in
delinquent status for purposes of this section.
(4) Nothing in this section defines the terms “delinquent” or “delinquent status” for any purposes other than those described
in this section.
(e) Delinquency resolution. (1) For purposes of this section, a person's delinquent debt is resolved only if the person:
(i) Pays or otherwise satisfies the delinquent debt in full;
(ii) Pays the delinquent debt in part if the creditor agency accepts such part payment as a compromise in lieu of payment in
full;
(iii) Cures the delinquency under terms acceptable to the creditor agency in that the person pays any overdue payments,
plus all interest, penalties, late charges, and administrative charges assessed by the creditor agency as a result of the
delinquency; or
(iv) Enters into a written repayment agreement with the creditor agency to pay the debt, in whole or in part, under terms
and conditions acceptable to the creditor agency.
(2) Unless the provisions of paragraph (e)(1) of this section apply, a delinquent debt is not resolved even if the creditor
agency has suspended or terminated collection activity with respect to such debt. For example, a delinquent nontax debt that
has been written off the books of the creditor agency or reported to the Internal Revenue Service as discharged (i.e. , canceled)
would not be “resolved.” If the provisions of paragraph (e)(1) of this section do apply, a delinquent debt is considered resolved.
For example, if a portion of a debt has been written off after the person has paid the debt in part where the creditor agency
accepts such part payment as a compromise in lieu of payment in full, the entire debt would be deemed “resolved” for purposes
of this section in accordance with paragraph (e)(1)(ii) of this section.
(f) Exemptions by the Secretary. (1) Upon the written request and recommendation of the head of the creditor agency to
which a class of debts is owed, the Secretary may exempt any class of debts from affecting a debtor's eligibility for Federal
financial assistance based on the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3720B and this section.
(2) The creditor agency recommending an exemption for a class of debts will provide the Secretary with information about:
(i) The nature of the program under which the delinquencies have arisen;
(ii) The number, dollar amount, and age of the debts in the program for which exemption is recommended;
(iii) The reasons why an exemption is justified, including why the granting of financial assistance to persons owing the type
of debt for which exemption is requested would not be contrary to the Government's goal to reduce losses by requiring proper
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screening of potential borrowers; and,
(iv) Other information the Secretary deems necessary to consider the exemption request.
(3) The Secretary may exempt a class of debts if exemption is in the best interests of the Federal Government.
(g) Waivers by the agency. (1) The head of an agency from which a person seeks to obtain Federal financial assistance
may waive the eligibility requirement described in paragraph (c) of this section. Waivers shall be granted only on a person by
person basis. The head of the agency may delegate the waiver authority only to the Chief Financial Officer of the agency. The
Chief Financial Officer may redelegate the authority only to the Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the agency.
(2) The authorized agency official should balance the following factors when deciding whether to grant a waiver under
paragraph (g)(1) of this section:
(i) Whether the denial of the financial assistance to the person would tend to interfere substantially with or defeat the
purposes of the financial assistance program or otherwise would not be in the best interests of the Federal Government; and
(ii) Whether the agency's granting of the financial assistance to the person is contrary to the Government's goal to reduce
losses from debt management activities by requiring proper screening of potential borrowers.
(3) When balancing the factors described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, the authorized agency official should consider:
(i) The age, amount, and cause(s) of the delinquency and the likelihood that the person will resolve the delinquent debt;
and
(ii) The amount of total debt, delinquent or otherwise, owed by the person and the person's credit history with respect to
repayment of debt.
(4) Each agency shall retain a centralized record of the number and type of waivers granted under this section.
(h) Effect of denial of Federal financial assistance. Nothing contained in this section precludes a person who has been
denied Federal financial assistance from obtaining such assistance after that person's delinquent debt has been resolved in
accordance with paragraph (e)(1) of this section.
[63 FR 67756, Dec. 8, 1998]
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| File Type | application/pdf |
| File Modified | 2019-06-20 |
| File Created | 2019-06-20 |