Setoff File Status
Next setoff file - Tuesday, April 22, 2025 (#6 of 22 for 2025)
Complete Setoff Schedule for 2025 - set by NC Dept. of Revenue:
#1 - Tuesday, February 4, 2025 (#1 of 22 for 2025)
#2 - Tuesday, February 18, 2025(#2 of 22 for 2025)
#3 - Tuesday, March 4, 2025 (#3 of 22 for 2025)
#4 - Tuesday, March 18, 2025 (#4 of 22 for 2025)
#5 - Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (#5 of 22 for 2025)
#6 - Tuesday, April 22, 2025 (#6 of 22 for 2025)
#7 - Tuesday, May 6, 2025 (#7 of 22 for 2025)
#8 - Tuesday, May 20, 2025 (#8 of 22 for 2025)
#9 - Tuesday, June 3, 2025 (#9 of 23 for 2025)
#10 - Tuesday, June 17, 2025 (#10 of 22 for 2025)
#11 - Tuesday, July 8, 2025 (#11 of 22 for 2025)
#12 - Tuesday, July 22, 2025 (#12 of 22 for 2025)
#13 - Tuesday, August 5, 2025 (#13 of 22 for 2025)
#14 - Tuesday, August 19, 2025 (#14 of 22 for 2025)
#15 - Tuesday, September 9, 2025 (#15 of 22 for 2025)
#16 - Tuesday, September 23, 2025 (#16 of 22 for 2025)
#17 - Tuesday, October 7, 2025 (#17 of 22 for 2025)
#18 - Tuesday, October 21, 2025 (#18 of 22 for 2025)
#19 - Tuesday, November 4, 2025 (#19 of 22 for 2025)
#20 - Tuesday, November 18, 2025 (#20 of 22 for 2025)
#21 - Tuesday, December 2, 2025 (#21 of 22 for 2025)
#22 - Tuesday, December 16, 2025 (#22 of 22 for 2025)
setoff file guidelines
January:
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The North Carolina Department of Revenue does not send any setoff files to the Clearinghouse in January - tax payer refunds are being processed and setoff during January and will be provided in the first setoff file on the first Tuesday in February. The North Carolina Education Lottery may send files during January but the Clearinghouse does not process until the first Department of Revenue file is received in February.
February through December:
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The Clearinghouse conducts a thorough reconciliation of all setoff files from the North Carolina Department of Revenue to ensure that all data is correct before proceeding with the following steps. Remember, all January setoffs are in this first February setoff file.
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The reconciliation for the setoff and lottery files in major tax season can be large and may require additional processing time and verifications before being available to the participating local governments. However, the files are normally available on the same day as received.
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The Clearinghouse begins the standard operations explained in the steps below:
| Step | Setoff Step | Status | Date(s) | Estimated Completion Date (If not ON SCHEDULE) or SPECIAL COMMENT |
| 1 | 1a) The NC
Department of Revenue processes tax refunds against debtors from the
Clearinghouse database.
1b) The NC Education Lottery reviews all winners of over $600 against the Clearinghouse database |
COMPLETED | Monday, April 7 through Sunday, April 20 | |
| 2 | The NC Department of Revenue mails the "Notice of Individual Income Tax Adjustment" letters to the debtors that were setoff. This letter references the Clearinghouse toll-free Interactive Voice Response (IVR) telephone number (877) 843-0330. | COMPLETED | Tuesday, April 8 through Monday, April 21 | |
| 3 | Debtors setoff receive the mailing notices and call the Clearinghouse (IVR) to inquire on all local governmental entities who submitted a claim against their tax refund | IN PROGRESS | Wednesday, April 9 through Wednesday, April 23 | |
| 4 | Participating local governmental entities submit electronic data files to the Clearinghouse via the client software or ASCII/Excel files | COMPLETED | Monday, March 31 through Friday, April 11 (5:00 p.m.) | |
| 5 | The Clearinghouse processes all local governmental entity data creating an updated database from data sent by Friday 5:00 p.m. | COMPLETED | Friday through Monday: April 4 -7 and 11 - 14 | |
| 6 | The Clearinghouse transmits a replacement database to North Carolina Department of Revenue who forwards a copy to the NC Education Lottery. Only debts $50.00 or more that have passed their Compliance Date and have not passed the Expiration Date are sent | COMPLETED | Tuesdays, April 8 and 15 | |
| 7 | 7a) The NC
Department of Revenue provides an electronic tax refund setoff file for
the Clearinghouse
7b) The NC Education Lottery transmits an electronic lottery setoff file to the Clearinghouse |
COMPLETED | Tuesday, April 22 | |
| 8 | The Clearinghouse reconciles information from the NC Department of Revenue and NC Education Lottery, using the electronic data files from each | COMPLETED | Tuesday, April 22 | |
| 9 | 9a)
The NC Department of Revenue electronically transfers all tax refund
setoff funds to N.C. Capital Management
9b) The NC Education Lottery electronically transfers all lottery setoff funds to NC Capital Management | ON SCHEDULE | Friday, April 25 | Note: the transfers in 2025 have not been on Friday but occurring the following Tuesday or Wednesday resulting in the funds not available until Thursday |
| 10 | Capital Management Trust will complete the deposit to the local governments | ON SCHEDULE | Tuesday, April 29 | Expected availablity: Thursday May 1 |
| 11 | The Clearinghouse updates the master database to reflect all setoffs received in the electronic file from the NC Department of Revenue and NC Education Lottery | COMPLETED | Tuesday, April 22 | |
| 12 | The Clearinghouse provides a secure report to NC Capital Management providing the associated Capital Management account numbers and deposit amounts for each local governmental entity that received funds. Additionally, the Clearinghouse provides copies of the above report to the NC League of Municipalities and the Association of County Commissioners | COMPLETED | Wednesday, April 23 | |
| 13 | The Clearinghouse transfers the setoff data files (including Excel file of all setoffs) to the secure folder for each local governmental entity in the file | COMPLETED | Tuesday, April 22 |
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| 14 | The Clearinghouse transmits electronic mail notifications and instructions to each local governmental entity that various files are available for download. Note: in order to reduce our chances as being marked as spam, we send 10 emails per minute so it may take several hours to send all. | COMPLETED | Tuesday, April 22 | |
| 15 | Local governmental entities proceed with the downloads from their secure folders, using either the Web Browser or the Client software and processes the setoff results | IN PROGRESS |
Tuesday, April 22 UNTIL COMPLETION
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| 16 | The Clearinghouse updates the Statistics information on the website | ON SCHEDULE | Friday, April 25 | |
| 17 |
Last Status Update |
Wednesday, April 23 - 9:18 a.m. |
Notes:
Step 1: Department of Revenue processes refunds that were received for this time period.
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The beginning date is usually a Monday and the last due is Sunday and normally covers a two - three week period. Debts setoff at the early part of this period will have to wait several weeks before the Clearinghouse receives them and processes them.
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Until the setoffs are received at the Clearinghouse, only the Department of Revenue can answer questions on the amount of debt being setoff. They cannot determine what local government(s) will be receiving the funds, only the amount. The phone number for the Debt Setoff Unit is (919) 814-1119.
Step 2: Department of Revenue mails a letter informing the debtor they were setoff.
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Click here to view a sample Department of Revenue Setoff "Notice of Individual Income Tax Adjustment".
Step 3: Interactive Voice Response system (IVR) process:
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Debtor is prompted for their Social Security Number. Note: debtor name, nor any other identifiable information is stored in the IVR database for security purposes.
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Provides the Local Governmental Entity Name, Contact Name and Telephone Number (from the online Participation Form) of ALL local governmental entities that submitted a claim against their tax refund
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Step 6: The Clearinghouse performs the following edits:
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Compliance Date - only debts sent to the North Carolina Department of Revenue and Education Lottery are those having a Compliance Date that has lapsed. Future Compliance Dates are held until that date passes.
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Expiration Date - only debts sent to Department of Revenue having an Expiration Date that have not yet lapsed (today or in the future)
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Debt Amount - only debts $50.00 or more are sent to the North Carolina Department of Revenue. Note: the Clearinghouse does NOT combine debts, this must be done by the local governments submitting debts
Step 11: The Clearinghouse updates the master database:
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Debt Amounts updated to reflect the tax refunds and lottery setoff(s)
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Indicators set to ensure that setoff rules enforced: only one transaction fee ($15) per Social Security Number per debt, per local governmental entity, per Tax Year
Step 11: The Clearinghouse faxes a report to N.C. Capital Management:
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The funds are normally available on the following Tuesday
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If there are questions or issues involving the access of these funds please call N. C. Capital Management Trust at (800) 222-3232