When you pay child support or receive it, you may become aware that the state charges an annual fee on your payments.
The Cumberland County Pennsylvania website explains that there is a federal law that requires an annual fee on all child support cases meeting certain criteria.
Criteria
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Child Support Enforcement will assess an annual fee against your child support payments if you receive at least $2,000 in support a year. However, you will not have to pay the fee if you receive public assistance cash benefits any time within the year in which the state assesses the fee.
Assessment
The assessment of the fee occurs once a year. The custodial parent must pay it, which means the state takes it out of your support payment. The fee is $35 and comes out once you reach the $2,000 mark in support payments within the federal fiscal year from October 1 to September 30.
If you have multiple child support cases in the state, then you will probably pay the fee on every case because the law allows the state to assess a fee on every open child support case. You cannot receive a refund of the fee even if you no longer meet the criteria after paying it. However, if your case is in another state, you will only pay the fee once in either that state or in Pennsylvania.
If you have questions about the annual fee, you should call or visit the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement. The agency has a helpline you can call on weekdays during normal business hours.