Section 441.95.3. Crediting of current and delinquent support.

The amounts received as support from the obligor shall be credited as the required support obligation for the month in which they are collected. Any excess shall be credited as delinquent payments and shall be applied to the immediately preceding month, and then to the next immediately preceding month until all excess has been applied. Funds received as a result of federal tax offsets shall be credited according to rule 441—95.7(252B).

The date of collection shall be determined as follows:

       95.3(1) Payments from income withholding. Payments collected as the result of income withholding are considered collected in the month in which the income was withheld by the income provider. The date of collection shall be the date on which the income was withheld.

        a.           For the purpose of reporting the date the income was withheld, the department shall notify income providers of the requirement to report the date income was withheld and shall provide Form 470-3221, “Income Withholding Return Document,” to those income providers who manually remit payments. When reported on this form or through other electronic means or multiple account listings, the date of collection shall be used to determine support distributions. When the date of collection is not reported, support distributions shall initially be issued based on the date of the check. If proof of the date of collection is subsequently provided, any additional payments due the recipient shall be issued.

        b.           When the collection services center (CSC) is notified or otherwise becomes aware that a payment received from an income provider pursuant to 441—Chapter 98, Division II, includes payment amounts such as vacation pay or severance pay, these amounts are considered irrevocably withheld in the months documented by the income provider. When the income provider does not document the months for which the sums are withheld, the amounts shall initially be distributed based on the date of the check. If documentation is subsequently provided, any additional payments due the recipient shall be issued.

       95.3(2) Payments from state or political subdivisions. Payments collected from any state or political subdivision are considered collected in the same month the payments were actually received by that legal entity or the month withheld by an income provider, whichever is earlier. Any state or political subdivision transmitting payments to the department shall be responsible for reporting the date the payments were collected. When the date of collection is not reported, support distributions shall be initially issued based on the date of the state’s or political subdivision’s check. If proof of the date of collection is subsequently provided, any additional payments due the recipient shall be issued.

       95.3(3) Additional payments. An additional payment in the month which is received within five calendar days prior to the end of the month shall be considered collected in the next month if:

        a.           CSC is notified or otherwise becomes aware that the payment is for the next month, and

        b.           Support for the current month is fully paid.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 252B.15 and 252D.17.