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Winter 2024

News and updates

Tax table update

The Tax Table Update is a periodic update to ensure accurate tax values are updated in the child support calculator. Items updated in the system include federal, state, local, Social Security and Medicare values. Sources used to research and update the tax values are IRS.gov, Michigan.gov, SSA.gov and various local city government websites. The Michigan Office of Child Support (OCS) periodically reviews the sources and update the tax values as necessary to ensure the child support calculator has accurate and up-to-date tax information.

While OCS strives to have the most accurate tax values in the child support calculator, it is very important for parents to provide actual tax returns to receive an exact child support calculation. While the tax values are reviewed and updated as they change, the child support calculator will always estimate taxes for a child support calculation, unless the actual tax return is provided. Providing the actual tax return is always more beneficial for both the payer and recipient of support.

Tax refund offsets

Tax season has started and, for parents who pay child support, this may mean that a portion of their state and/or federal tax refunds will be taken to pay child support debt. The Federal Tax Refund Offset Program is the process to take a child support payer’s tax refund when their child support is past due. The tax refund amount is redirected from the taxpayer to the child support agency for the child support recipient. Tax refund collection reports are closely reviewed each month by the child support agency for fraudulent activity and other possible errors.

Before a payer’s tax refund can be taken, the amount of past-due child support must meet certain federal requirements. When the debt does meet requirements, the payer will receive a Pre-Offset Notice which explains why their tax return may be taken. The payer has a right to contest, and must contact the agency listed on the notice within 30 days of the date of the notice. If a payer files a joint tax return that is eligible to be taken, the current spouse of the payer may file an injured spouse claim on their portion of the tax return. Some tax refunds are held by the agency for up to six months before being sent to the payer, which gives the IRS time to determine if a tax return should be given back to the tax payer.

Child support navigator program

The child support program can be complicated and difficult to navigate at times. We have heard this from our participants and from members of our Community Advisory Council. To help alleviate this, the Council recommended in late 2021 that OCS investigate starting a child support navigator program.

The purpose of a navigator program is to help families understand what is happening with their child support case and why. It is also to ensure participants in the program know their rights, their responsibilities and their options to ensure they get the service they need. This could mean help with paperwork, understanding the steps to establish an order or generally troubleshooting any issues that arise in the life of a child support case.

With funding provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the federal government, OCS will be piloting a navigator program in Calhoun, Genessee, Kent and Wayne counties, beginning in mid-2024. Prosecuting Attorney and Friend of the Court offices in these four counties have helped develop the pilot.

“We understand that navigating the child support system can be intimidating,” said MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel. “The navigator program is intended to assist families so that children can get the financial support they need and deserve. We will assist both payers and recipients of support and others served by the child support system.”

OCS and local partners will share more information about the pilot program as it becomes available.

Hello!

I’m Renee B. and I work at OCS as the paternity establishment program liaison. I work with child support professionals, as well as our partners in hospitals and many other agencies, to make sure everyone understands the importance of paternity establishment and how to help families in that process.

Paternity establishment is so important for so many reasons. Paternity establishment gives children born to unmarried parents the same rights as children born to married parents. It provides children with a sense of identity and belonging, but also provides children with financial and emotional support. Children who have a legal father have rights to both parents’ benefits, such as health insurance, social security or veteran’s benefits, to name a few. Studies show that children benefit from having both parents involved in their lives, whether the parents live together or not.

There are four ways to establish paternity legally: marriage, adoption, through the courts (order of filiation, usually as a result of genetic testing), or voluntarily by signing an Affidavit of Parentage (AOP). An AOP can be signed by unmarried parents at any time in their child’s life. Parents must have a qualified witness or a notary present while signing the form. There is no cost to sign and submit an AOP to the State Vital Records office, however, there are fees to amend the birth certificate or to request certified copies of the AOP.

To learn more about paternity establishment and/or about the AOP, watch this video, or read this brochure. If you have questions or would like help figuring out where to start, call OCS at (866) 540-0008.

The Michigan Child Support Program is made up of a group of organizations which work together to serve Michigan families: the Office of Child Support (OCS), Prosecuting Attorney offices, the Michigan State Disbursement Unit (MiSDU) and Friend of the Court offices. 

To see a one page overview of the program and how the different organizations work together, click here.