Posted on 05/01/2020 2:03:17 AM PDT by Libloather
**SNIP**
Normally, when you're behind on certain debts or obligations, like back taxes or federal student loan payments, you risk having your tax refund garnished. Under the CARES Act, you won't lose your stimulus payment for those same reasons -- but overdue child support is the one exception. If you're behind on child support, your relief check could be partially garnished or garnished in full, depending on the amount you owe.
Here's even more bad news: If you file a joint tax return with your spouse, and your spouse is behind on child support, your entire stimulus payment could be subject to garnishment -- even if your spouse is the only one responsible for paying child support.
It's not just your stimulus you have to worry about
If you've lost your job due to COVID-19, you're generally eligible for unemployment benefits if you're out of work due to no fault of your own. But if you're behind on child support payments, you may have a portion of your unemployment benefits garnished as well. The specifics there depend on what state you live in, but that's certainly something to keep on your radar.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
I have 3 months, and have $1500 in arrears to catch up and I am DONE didnt file in 2018 so im ineligible for the stimulus...
I’ve been filing may taxes. Now the IRS web site says they have NO record of me. LOL! Go figure. (Last week, they told me they had my records, but couldn’t determine eligibility)
That happened to a friend of my husband. His new wife owed back child support so they kept her AND his. Her kids are teenagers and they have only been married a year.
Borrow the money, pay the balance of your CS, file your 2018 return now. And you sho7ld receive your 1200. Use it to pay most of the 1500 you borrowed and pay off the final 300 this month. Just get it all done today!
> His new wife owed back child support so they kept her AND his.
File an injured spouse claim.
This is an easier read than the IRS version: https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/irs/refunds-and-payments/tax-refund-offsets-injured-spouse-form/
I’ll let him know. It doesn’t sound fair to me that his was taken over a dept he didn’t know she wasn’t paying and they have only been married a year.
I got the call to go back to work Monday so I’m just gonna let it pass... its easier for me just to work my Tile and Marble job or do a side job for the money than it is goin thru all that BS... heck I hate it so much I have only collected 5 and a half months of unemployment my whole life and im pushing 60...
Neither knowing nor length of marriage factor in, but you’re right anyway. It wouldn’t be fair so with a joint return there’s this way to put it (mostly) right.
If he's the high earner, it still may have made sense to file jointly for tax avoidance reasons. If they make the same, it was a poor finanical decision.
In any event, if the ex-husband has custody and she is paying support, that's a red flag.
That’s what my husband said. He said if the woman is paying support and the ex has the kids, something is wrong somewhere. She won’t hold a job. She hops from one to the other. That would have been my red flag.
I blame him too for not knowing what he was getting into. He obviously didn’t know her well enough to marry her IMO.
I think my husband’s friend was lonely and rushed things a bit. He’s at that age where a lot of men don’t want to be alone.
The only exceptions I've seen to that is where the husband was a lawyer and the wife wasn't. Hobby for him, expense for her.
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