Wage garnishment is another form of aggressive collection tool the IRS and the state taxing authority use to punish taxpayers. By law, your employer is required to comply with the IRS demand to garnish your wages. This is usually a swift move by the IRS since the taxing authority has no obligation to enforce this action through the court system. The “Final Notice to Levy” is usually the warning sign that at any time after the 30-day window, they can begin the process of garnishment. Like many taxpayers who are living paycheck to paycheck, imagine your paycheck decreasing by up to 70%, as allowed by the IRS. This is where our firm jumps in to stop this malfeasance.
Before the IRS starts garnishing your wages, they are obligated to warn you via a registered or certified notice. The law provides you 30 days to respond before they can issue a tax garnishment against your wages. Once the 30-day notice is sent, a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing must be received by the IRS within that time frame; otherwise, you may lose appeal rights, which puts you in an unfavorable situation where the IRS can exercise their rights to start the garnishment process. Once the garnishment starts, your situation becomes more complex, as the IRS takes control over your finances.
How Much Can the IRS Garnish?
It is important to know that the IRS has almost unlimited rights once the garnishment starts. Unlike most creditors, the IRS does not have to take you to court first before they garnish your wages, and they can take up to 70% of your salary.
It is strongly recommended that you call us for help. At ProTax Consulting Services, even after you lose the appeal rights, there are many different ways we can help stop this type of collection action.
If you need to stop or prevent a wage garnishment, tax lien, or bank levy, please contact our office for a FREE confidential consultation.