SECTION 55.101. Contesting Federal Income Tax Refund Intercept

(a) A non-custodial parent, who the Office of the Attorney General has determined owes past-due child support and whose federal income tax refund is therefore subject to interception by the Office of the Attorney General, may contest the determined amount of past-due child support or arrears by contacting the Office of the Attorney General and submitting a written complaint to the Office of the Attorney General, Child Support Division, at the office address which appears on the notice of an intended or actual administration action, requesting either:

(1) an informal resolution of any issue in dispute; or

(2) a formal administrative review hearing. A request for an informal resolution of an issue in dispute shall not preclude the non-custodial parent from subsequently requesting a formal hearing.

(b) If the order upon which the Office of the Attorney General computed the amount of past-due child support owed was entered by a court of another state, the non-custodial parent may request a hearing in that state.

(c) A request for administrative review must be submitted no later than 30 days from the date the non-custodial parent receives notice of an intended or actual report of past-due amounts to the federal Internal Revenue Service.

(d) The Office of the Attorney General shall grant a request for hearing on the non-custodial parent's submission, not later than 30 days following the non-custodial parent's receipt of notice of the actual offset, of a completed request for administrative review form to be obtained from the Office of the Attorney General. (The request for administrative review form for contesting federal income tax refund intercepts, appears at the end of this section.)

(e) In an interstate case in which a non-custodial parent has requested a hearing in Texas to contest an arrearage amount calculated by the IV-D agency of another state, the Office of the Attorney General shall grant the requested hearing upon notification of the request by the other state. The Office of the Attorney General shall then provide the non-custodial parent with a request for administrative review form to be returned to the Office of the Attorney General not later than 10 days prior to the hearing date.

(f) The parties may appear in person or by telephone, with or without a representative. An in-person hearing must be requested at the time the Request for Hearing is submitted. The hearing record shall be made by an audio recording.

(1) The non-custodial parent may submit any contentions and evidence in the form of an affidavit properly acknowledged, thereby making an appearance unnecessary. If the non-custodial parent does not participate in the hearing, any properly acknowledged affidavit from the non-custodial parent may be submitted and admitted as evidence into the hearing record and may be considered by the hearing examiner in determining the facts; and

(2) In non-TANF cases, if the custodial parent chooses not to participate, the information and affidavit provided at the time of application shall be considered. If the custodial parent does not participate in the hearing, a properly acknowledged affidavit from the custodial parent may be submitted and admitted as evidence into the hearing record and may be considered by the hearing examiner in determining the facts. The prescribed Request for Administrative Review form (Form 3F006e & 3F006s) can be obtained from the Texas Attorney General's Child Support Division webpage www.texasattorneygeneral.gov under Child Support, Forms.

Source Note: The provisions of this §55.101 adopted to be effective May 25, 1992, 17 TexReg 3464; amended to be effective March 5, 2008, 33 TexReg 1759; amended to be effective November 10, 2014, 39 TexReg 8685