Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 27 - TAXATION AND FINANCE (§§ 27-1-1 — 27-117-15) › Chapter 7 - INCOME TAX AND WITHHOLDING (§§ 27-7-1 — 27-7-NEW-002) › Article 5 - SETOFF AGAINST INCOME TAX REFUND FOR DEBT OWED FOR CHILD SUPPORT OR MAINTENANCE (§§ 27-7-501 — 27-7-519) › Section 27-7-509 - Procedural requirements; fee

(1)
Within the time frame specified by the commission, a claimant agency seeking to collect a debt through setoff shall supply the information necessary to identify each debtor whose refund is sought to be set off and certify the amount of the debt or debts owed by each such debtor.
(2)
If a debtor identified by a claimant agency is determined by the commission to be entitled to a refund of at least Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00), the commission shall transfer an amount equal to the refund owed, not to exceed the amount of the claimed debt certified, to the agency. When the refund owed exceeds the claimed debt, the commission shall send the excess amount to the debtor within a reasonable time after such excess is determined.
(3)
At the time of the transfer of funds to a claimant agency pursuant to subsection (2), the commission shall notify the taxpayer or taxpayers whose refund is sought to be set off that the transfer has been made. Such notice shall clearly set forth the name of the debtor, the manner in which the debt arose, the amount of the claimed debt, the transfer of funds to the claimant agency pursuant to subsection (2), the intention to set off the refund against the debt, the amount of the refund in excess of the claimed debt, the taxpayer's opportunity to give written notice to contest the setoff within thirty (30) days of the date of mailing of the notice, the name and mailing address of the claimant agency to which the application for a hearing must be sent, and the fact that failure to apply in writing for such a hearing within the thirty-day period will be deemed a waiver of the opportunity to contest the setoff. In the case of a joint return, the notice shall also state the name of the taxpayer named in the return, if any, against whom no debt is claimed, the fact that a debt is not claimed against such taxpayer, the fact that such taxpayer is entitled to receive a refund if it is due him regardless of the debt asserted against his spouse, and that in order to obtain a refund due him, such taxpayer must apply in writing for a hearing with the claimant agency named in the notice within thirty (30) days of the date of the mailing of the notice. If a taxpayer fails to apply in writing for such a hearing within thirty (30) days of the mailing date of such notice, he will have waived his opportunity to contest the setoff.
(4)
Upon receipt of funds transferred from the commission pursuant to subsection (2), the claimant agency shall deposit and hold such funds in an escrow account until a final determination of the validity of the debt.
(5)
The claimant agency shall pay the commission a fee, not to exceed Seventeen Dollars ($17.00) in each case in which a tax refund is identified as being available for offset. Such fees shall be deposited by the Tax Commission into a special fund hereby created in the State Treasury, out of which the Legislature shall appropriate monies to defray expenses of the commission in employing personnel to administer the provisions of this article.
Laws, 1985, ch. 364, § 5, eff. 7/1/1985.