Non-TANF child support refers to a child support case where the custodial parent is not receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Because no cash assistance is being reimbursed, every dollar the state collects goes to the family instead of the government, minus a small annual fee in some cases. Anyone can request these services from their state’s child support agency regardless of income, and non-TANF cases make up the majority of the national caseload.
What Makes a Case Non-TANF
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is a federal block grant, currently around $16.6 billion a year, that states use to provide cash assistance and support services to families with low incomes.1Administration for Children and Families. About TANF When a family receives TANF, federal law requires the custodial parent to assign their child support rights to the state. The state then legally stands in for the parent as the recipient of any support collected, using those dollars to reimburse itself and the federal government for the cost of the cash assistance.2Administration for Children and Families. Child Support Handbook Chapter 6 – Where the Money Goes
A non-TANF case is simply one where that assignment isn’t in place. The custodial parent has never received TANF, or has stopped receiving it. There’s no government reimbursement claim on the payments, and the agency’s role is to serve the family rather than to collect a debt owed to the state. Opening a non-TANF case is voluntary. You apply because you want help, not because a benefits program requires it.
Where the Money Goes in a Non-TANF Case
Federal law sorts distribution into three tracks, and two of them are relevant if you’re looking at non-TANF services.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 657 – Distribution of Collected Support
If You Have Never Received TANF
This is the clean version. The state distributes the entire collected amount to you, minus a small annual service fee that only applies past a certain threshold. Nothing goes to the government. Arrears go to you as well. What gets collected is what you receive.
If You Formerly Received TANF
Leaving TANF does not automatically produce a clean non-TANF case, and this catches parents off guard. Current monthly support starts flowing to you in full right away. Arrears are the complication. Any support that went unpaid while you were on TANF was assigned to the state, and that assigned balance stays with the government even after you leave the program.2Administration for Children and Families. Child Support Handbook Chapter 6 – Where the Money Goes
Federal law does put your unassigned arrears first. Support owed before you ever received TANF, or after you left, gets paid to you before the state collects on its assigned balance.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 657 – Distribution of Collected Support But if the noncustodial parent owes a mix of assigned and unassigned arrears, sorting out which payment covers which debt takes time and can leave you wondering why the numbers don’t add up. If you’re in this situation, contact your local child support agency and ask for a written breakdown of assigned versus unassigned arrears so you know what to expect.
The $35 Annual Service Fee
If you have never received TANF and the state collects at least $550 in support on your behalf during a federal fiscal year, the state must charge a $35 annual fee. The fee cannot come out of that first $550. States can deduct it from later collections, bill you directly, recover it from the noncustodial parent, or absorb it from state funds.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 654 – State Plan for Child and Spousal Support The fee rose from $25 to $35, and the collection trigger from $500 to $550, effective October 2018.5Congress.gov. Child Support Services Annual User Fee: In Brief
Families who received TANF at any point don’t pay this fee. It applies only to never-assistance cases, because those cases are opened by voluntary application rather than automatically through a benefits program.
How to Apply
Either the custodial or the noncustodial parent can request services. Most state agencies accept online applications through their websites, and paper applications by mail or at a local office are usually available too. There is no cost to apply in most states. The annual fee only kicks in once collections cross the $550 threshold in a year.
You do not need a lawyer, and you do not need an existing custody order. The child support agency can petition the court on your behalf at no charge, including for paternity establishment through genetic testing or voluntary acknowledgment.6Administration for Children and Families. TANF and Child Support Cooperation and Good Cause Policies If you already have a private attorney handling other pieces of your family law matter, you can still open a non-TANF case for collection and enforcement while your attorney handles the rest.
Once your application is processed, the agency assigns a caseworker who handles locating the other parent, establishing paternity if needed, obtaining a support order, and enforcing it if payments fall behind.
Enforcement Tools the Agency Can Use
Federal law requires every state to maintain the same set of enforcement mechanisms, and they’re all available in non-TANF cases.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement Everything recovered goes to you, minus the annual fee if it applies.
- Income withholding. The employer deducts support directly from wages, commissions, bonuses, disability payments, pensions, and similar income before the parent sees it. This is the default collection method for nearly all orders.8Administration for Children and Families. Income Withholding
- Tax refund intercept. The state can intercept state income tax refunds owed to a parent behind on support, and a separate federal program intercepts federal refunds for past-due child support.9Administration for Children and Families. How Does a Federal Tax Refund Offset Work?
- Property liens. Overdue support creates automatic liens against the noncustodial parent’s real estate and personal property, and states must honor liens from other states.
- Financial account seizure. States match child support records against financial institution data, identify accounts held by parents who owe arrears, and levy those accounts.
- License suspension. States can suspend or restrict driver’s, professional, and recreational licenses for parents who owe overdue support or ignore court proceedings.
- Passport denial. A parent who owes $2,500 or more in past-due support is ineligible for a U.S. passport.10U.S. Department of State. Pay Your Child Support Before Applying for a Passport
Modifying the Order Later
A child support order is not permanent. Either parent can ask the agency or the court to review and adjust it when circumstances change. Most states require the change to be significant, lasting, and outside the parent’s control. A serious injury, a permanent job loss, or retirement at a normal age would generally qualify. Quitting a job or taking a voluntary pay cut generally would not.
Federal law requires states to review orders at least every three years if either parent requests it, and many states allow earlier reviews when income or custody has shifted substantially.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 654 – State Plan for Child and Spousal Support You contact your agency, request a review, and provide documentation. The agency recalculates using your state’s guidelines and, if the numbers warrant it, asks the court for a modified order.
If you’re the custodial parent and the other parent’s income has gone up, a review can mean a higher payment. If you’re the noncustodial parent facing a genuine hardship, seeking a modification before you fall behind is far easier than trying to reduce arrears after the fact. Courts rarely forgive past-due support even when they lower the order going forward.