IRS Wage Garnishment Resolution By Experienced Tax Attorneys

If you have fallen behind paying your bills including IRS tax problems or state taxes you should be aware of the wage garnishment action that could be taken against you by a creditor. A garnishment is a legal order given to your employer to deduct a portion of your wages or salary to pay directly to the creditor.

In addition to being an embarrassment to you, it could jeopardize your job. However there are various state and federal laws to protect you.

IRS Wage Garnishment

If you owe taxes to the IRS and they have served you with notices they can act to garnishee your wages or salary. This is a key tool used by the IRS as taxpayers do not want to involve their employers in an overdue tax bill.

The IRS and Franchise Tax Board (for California state taxes) will use various collection tools for overdue taxes including wage garnishment, levies on property and bank accounts. Their goal is to get your attention and get you to arrange payment. IRS wage garnishments are considered personal property seizures.

The IRS Will Go Through This Process:

  • You stop paying your tax bill
  • You make no arrangement to pay the outstanding bill
  • Next you will get a notice of your past due taxes with a demand to pay
  • You will have 10 to 30 days to resolve this depending on the type of tax owing
  • If you don’t respond, the IRS will issue a Final Notice of intent to levy
  • Thirty days after the Final Notice the IRS will proceed with the wage garnishment action

The IRS or Franchise Tax Board is looking for assets that can be converted to cash as quickly as possible such as:

  • Your regular wages or salary – hence wage garnishment
  • Cars subject to car loan liens
  • Bank accounts
  • Other assets

Order To Your Employer

If the garnishment is not resolved, your employer will be ordered to deduct certain amounts from each pay check until the debt is fully paid or the garnishment order rescinded. For example, you could arrange a payment plan for your IRS debt and when accepted, the IRS will cancel the garnishment order.
Under federal law the creditor can only take a portion of your pay check—based on your net pay (gross pay less payroll deductions).
If you opt for bankruptcy, the garnishment process is stopped immediately.
Don’t let the IRS create havoc with a wage garnishment of your paycheck. We can explain the various options available to you to resolve your IRS tax problem. Please contact us today at 626-440-9518 for a complementary consultation.