Wage Garnishment – Dealing with the Threat of the IRS Levy Procedures
For parties out there who are struggling with the IRS and facing the possibility of wage garnishment, it’s important to face the issue head on.
It goes without saying that these situations are difficult and they are the sort of thing that can snowball if you don’t give them enough attention. Still, the best policy is being proactive and taking action to prevent larger wage garnishment problems down the road.
So what can you do when the IRS is threatening to garnish your wages? The smart move is to get in touch with a third party company that can help you. Experience is the name of the game when wage garnishment is the issue at play.
Can your wages be garnished?
One of the first things that people often ask is about the possibilities. Can they really take away my money without authorization? The answer to this question is a definitive yes, so you need to be very careful when this situation arises. The IRS is somewhat supreme in nature so their wage garnishments don’t even need a court order. Instead, they can put a levy on a person’s wages after going through some simple procedures.
When can the IRS garnish your wages?
When dealing with an IRS wage garnishment, know that the official phrasing is a levy. The IRS can levy a person’s wages without even getting an official court order as long as the agency has sent out the proper notices. The IRS must have first authorized the tax and then sent out a demand for payment. In that case, if you do not pay during the allotted time period, then the IRS must send a notice of the intent to levy with a 30-day period in which you can cure. The IRS can take up to 25% of a person’s wages through a wage garnishment, so the amount can be significant.
One thing to know is that the IRS can levy your wages even if you never receive the final notice. If they send the notice to your permanent place of residence, then the notice is proper and they can begin taking your money. This is a difficult problem for many people because they feel cheated. They feel as if they never had an opportunity to make the situation right. Often times, people will first learn that their wages are being levied when the money is actually taken out of their checks.
So finally … What can be done when Wage Garnishment is threatened?
The first step, quite obviously, is to make sure that you enlist the help of a company that has experience with these cases. The thing about dealing with the IRS is that an ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure. If you are proactive and you contact the agency, they will be likely to work something out with you. People generally get in trouble when they just neglect the situation. You never want to do that, as things will just get worse. Know that the problem is not going to go away and the IRS will eventually take action if you owe them money. Getting in touch with a solid third party company will help you avoid wage garnishment.
Wage garnishment can be a difficult situation, but you don’t have to go through it alone. If you seek help and contact the IRS soon enough, then you can avoid an official wage garnishment.
About Henry Byers
Henry Byers, ex-IRS Manager and CPA with a primary focus on the areas of IRS Tax Debt, IRS Levy & Wage Garnishment Release.
Specializing in resolving your IRS tax debt problems for individuals and small to medium sized businesses.
Whether its an IRS garnishment, Wage garnishment, IRS Lien, IRS Levy, IRS audit, IRS penalties or unfiled or delinquent tax returns that have you worried, we can help!
