Laws about child support are very strict, and state and federal governments have a lot of power in terms of enforcing payments. In fact, according to the Child Support Recovery Act, it is a federal crime to refuse to pay child support for more than a year or for being more than $5,000 in arrears. Enforcement options include criminal or civil contempt, garnishing wages and/or tax refunds, and state license non-renewal. More on child support enforcement can be found in the guides below.