Kansas Department of Administration

Creditor Agencies - Debts

Define what a debt is and what type of debts could be submitted in KTOP?

“Debt” means: (1) Any liquidated sum due and owing to the State of Kansas, or any state agency, municipality, or foreign state agency which has accrued through contract, subrogation, tort, operation of law, or any other legal theory regardless of whether there is an outstanding judgment for that sum.  A debt shall not include special assessments except when the owner of the property assessed petitioned for the improvement and any successor in interest of such owner of property; or child support (see K.S.A. 75‐6202(b)(2)).  Click here for Examples of debts

What debts are eligible for KTOP?

For a debt to be eligible for submission to TOP through KTOP, the debt balance must be $25 or more and a due diligence letter must have been sent to the debtor (see next topic regarding due diligence letter). Also, a debt can only legally be sent to TOP for up to 10 years after the date on which it became delinquent.

In order for a debt to be legally enforceable past the standard 10 year period, an order must be in place allowing collection beyond 10 years delinquent. KTOP will automatically stop sending a debt to TOP once it has hit the 10 years delinquent mark, unless the debt has been flagged as being legally enforceable beyond that point.

Can a debt be sent to KTOP even if the debtor doesn't live in Kansas?

Yes, debts for non-Kansas residents can be sent to TOP through KTOP. A debtor's current address has no bearing on whether or not their debt is eligible for the program.

What is a due diligence letter and how is it different from the three collection attempts we are already required to make?

A due diligence letter is a notice sent to a debtor informing them of the creditor agency's intention to refer their debt to TOP for offset against federal payments. The letter contains specific language informing the debtor of their options and rights. Debts cannot be sent to TOP until 60 days after due diligence has been performed (which is the date of the letter, and also the date the letter was mailed).

Performing due diligence is a federal requirement for submitting a debt to TOP. In order to ensure this requirement is met, KTOP is currently offering to provide this service on behalf of creditor agencies at no cost to them. However, creditor agencies are encouraged to begin including due diligence language as part of their three initial collection attempts. This can usually be accomplished by modifying a collection letter that is currently in use by the creditor agency.

To view a sample due diligence letter, please click here.

What is the deadline for sending debts to KTOP?

There is no deadline for loading debts into KTOP. Creditor agencies can send debts already existing in KDRS to KTOP at their discretion and add new debts as they occur. However, KTOP will not submit a debt to TOP until 60 days after due diligence has been performed.

Will we have to enter our debts in both KDRS and KTOP?

No, creditor agencies do not have to double-enter their debts.

KDRS has been programmed with the ability to pass debts through to KTOP. The debts are then synced between the two systems so that any changes made in one (i.e. collections or increases) are reflected in the other. Creditor agencies should continue to submit debts and post adjustments through KDRS.

 

Will we have to enter any additional information in KDRS to submit debts to KTOP?

Yes, creditor agencies will be required to enter additional information for a debt in order to submit it to TOP through KTOP.

In order for a debt to be submitted to TOP, the debtor's TIN, the delinquency and due diligence dates, and the debtor's debt address must be entered into the debt record in KDRS. It is very important that the debtor's name and TIN are entered correctly as that is what TOP uses to match debts against payments. If either contain a typo, a match (and subsequent offset) will not occur.

I entered a new debt in KDRS, but forgot to complete the additional KTOP fields. Can I still get the debt submitted to KTOP?

Yes, eligible debts that exist in KDRS can be added to KTOP for submission to TOP at any time by following these instructions.

We have hundreds of debts in KDRS that we'd like to send to KTOP. Is there an easy way to submit them all?

Yes, KTOP is capable of doing a mass transfer of a creditor agency's eligible debts from KDRS. Creditor agencies interested in this service must complete the Delinquency Date Agreement form and email it to ktop@ks.gov or fax it to "Attn KTOP" at (785) 296-2697. KTOP will send a confirmation email once the transfer is complete.

How can I tell which of our debts have been sent to KTOP?

To view a list of debts that are being synced with KTOP, creditor agencies can download a master listing of their debts from KDRS. Master listings now contain a column that indicates whether or not a debt has been sent to KTOP.

If the result list is being viewed in KDRS, the T column will have a "T" in the field if the debt is syncing with KTOP. Results can be sorted by clicking on the column header.

If the result list is downloaded to a spreadsheet, column Z (TO TOP?) will have a "YES" in the field if the debt is syncing with KTOP.

For debts that have been sent to KTOP, detailed TOP information is located on the debt record in KDRS under the General Information section.

Can we enter into a payment agreement with a debtor after their debt has been sent to KTOP?

Yes, creditor agencies can enter into a payment agreement with a debtor at any time. However, the debt will still be eligible for offset unless the creditor agency inactivates the debt. To do so:

  1. Login to KDRS and navigate to the debt.
  2. Under Available Options on the right side of the DEBT RECORD DETAILS screen, click on "Request modification of debt information".
  3. Change Debt Active in TOP? to "No".
  4. Click "Request Mod".

The debt will still sync between KDRS and KTOP, but it will no longer be sent to TOP for collection against federal payments. If at any point the debtor defaults on their payment plan, the creditor agency can resume sending the debt to TOP by following the same steps listed above and selecting "Yes" for step 3.

Can write-off debts be sent to KTOP?

No, write-offs are not eligible for submission to TOP.

What is the difference between a debtor record and a debt record?

The debtor record is the history of the individual or business.  A debt record is specific to one debt.  For additional information, please reference Debtor vs Debt Records in the KTOP User Manual.

Why can’t I locate a debt/debtor record that was previously in KTOP?

KTOP currently has a purge process built into the database which completely deletes debts and their corresponding debtors if no other debts for the debtor exist.  Purging happens for debtors and debts where the current balance of the debt has fallen to zero and there has been no system activity of any kind in the last month and there has been no KTOP business activity against the debt ever.

If a debtor owes multiple debts to both federal and state, what is the hierarchy for which entity gets paid first?

Child support debts have priority and will be paid first, followed by non-tax federal debts.  Succeeding that are state debts, which are determined by the date of delinquency on the debts.  The oldest debt, regardless of the date uploaded, will be paid next, and so forth.

Can I get a list of all the debts and balances of each record our agency has entered into KTOP?

Yes, a master listing of debts can be generated from KTOP.  To create a master listing of debts, reference the Master Listing of Debts in the KTOP User Manual for detailed instructions.

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