(c) Injured spouse.

1. (1)

   1. (A) Financial Management Service will offset a refund from a joint income tax return to pay a past due support obligation if either tax filer is certified as being legally responsible for providing support.
   2. (B) The United States Department of the Treasury will notify the spouse at the time of offset regarding the steps to take to protect his or her share of the refund.
   3. (C) The noncustodial party’s spouse may file an Injured Spouse Allocation Form when filing the joint tax return or any time after the offset.
   4. (D) If the noncustodial parent’s spouse files the appropriate form with the original tax return, the Internal Revenue Service will determine what, if any, portion of the refund is owed to the spouse based on that person’s income and tax debt and will only offset the noncustodial parent’s share of the tax refund.
2. (2) As provided in federal regulations, the office will delay the distribution of refunds based on a joint return for six (6) months to allow the Internal Revenue Service time to process the form that may have been filed after the return and offset was processed.