Income withholding is a deduction of a payment for child support from a parent’s income. An order for income withholding can be from a court or administratively ordered by a child support agency—such as the child support division of the state’s Attorney General’s office.
The parent's employer often transmits the money directly to the child support agency.
In New York, income withholding is the primary method of collecting child support payments. When a court or the state's child support enforcement agency issues an order for child support, an income withholding order (IWO) is typically sent to the non-custodial parent's employer. The employer is then responsible for deducting the specified amount from the parent's income and sending it directly to the New York State Child Support Processing Center. Employers must comply with the IWO and are subject to penalties if they fail to withhold the funds or do not remit them in a timely manner. The process is designed to ensure that child support payments are made regularly and in the correct amount, reducing the need for further enforcement actions.