When a taxpayer owes income taxes to the government, one of the major tools at the disposal of the IRS are levies. Levies and seizures include taking the assets of the taxpayers. Typically, these are bank funds but could include investments, retirement funds, vehicles and even real estate in certain situations. In addition to bank levies, we see a lot of wage garnishments. These can be particularly harmful to taxpayers because they leave the taxpayer with only a minimum amount to live off of. They are also continuous levies where the IRS will continue to levy their paycheck, until an event occurs which stops the levy from occurring.
Taxpayers often find that they are unable to survive on the amount of payroll that is “exempt” from the levy. To find out how much is exempt, see IRS Publication 1494 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1494.pdf. Don’t get confused, when reading Publication 1494, thinking that the amounts are the amounts the IRS can levy. These amounts are the amounts the taxpayer takes home with payroll. The IRS realizes that taxpayers can’t survive on these amounts and often are just looking for the taxpayer to respond to the IRS and get in an acceptable solution.
To learn more about what to do if the IRS garnishes your wages, watch my video at https://youtu.be/5KyhMbeBU9Q.
If you find you need professional help, set up some time on my calendar at https://jablonskyandassociates.com/contact/.
