IRS Wage Garnishment Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some frequently asked questions about IRS wage garnishments. If you would like to speak with a representative in greater detail, please contact us at (561) 237-5443.
1. What is an IRS Wage Garnishment?
An IRS Wage Garnishment is the process where the IRS has sent a notice of levy to your employer and is demanding that they withhold a certain portion of your paycheck and send it to the IRS.
2. Why is the IRS garnishing my wages?
The IRS generally garnishes your wages because you have a long standing IRS tax debt. They will send correspondence to you requesting you remit payment. When you don’t respond their requests and ignore the situation, they will complete the wage garnishment process.
3. What is the difference between an IRS notice of intent to levy and an IRS notice of levy?
A final notice of intent to levy is a certified letter sent to you by the IRS. This is their final request for you to make good on the debt before they escalate to a wage garnishment.
An IRS notice of levy is a letter that the IRS sends to your employer. This letter requires your employer to set aside a portion of your wages (typically 40 – 80%) and requires your employer to send this portion to the IRS.
4. How long do I have to respond once I receive the final notice of intent to levy?
Generally, you have 30 days from the date on the notice to respond to the IRS. If you don’t respond within this timeframe, your employer and banks will be receiving the next letters.
5. How do I get my IRS Wage Garnishment released?
The release of a wage garnishment is a comprehensive project and many issues are involved. If you owe back taxes, they will need to be filed before the IRS will accept any sort of payment arrangements and release your wage levy.
This will all need to be done in a hurry. You need to get your back taxes filed as soon as possible and if you rush it, you may end up owing more money than you should. It takes the care and attention to detail of a tax professional to organize all of these tasks at the same time.
Once your taxes have been filed, you will need to get an Installment agreement put into place. Depending on the balance owed, you may or may not need to submit complicated financial statements to the IRS before they will accept an installment agreement and release your IRS wage garnishment.
Once all of this has been completed and submitted, the IRS will generally release your wage garnishment at least in part. If you default on this installment agreement, the IRS may resume the garnishment of your wages at any time.
6. How much is the IRS going to take out of my paycheck?
Typically, the IRS will garnish 40 – 80% of your wages depending on your situation.
7. What if I quit my job and have them pay me under the table?
This is about the worst idea possible. Not having the money to pay your IRS tax debt is one thing; committing tax fraud is another thing. You run serious risk of going to prison for tax evasion along with your employer. This is both unnecessary and dangerous as there are many other options available to you.
8. What are my rights once the IRS starts to garnish my wages?
You have the ability to appeal the IRS wage garnishment but the only problem is, once that wage garnishment is already in place, the IRS is not going to release it until you are in compliance. You will need to have all of your taxes filed and have an installment agreement in place. If you need back tax help or assistance with an installment agreement, we are more than capable of helping you.
If you have any more questions about getting your IRS wage garnishment released, give us a call at (561) 237-5443 or fill out the consultation request form below.
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