Taxation & Estate Planning

?Can the IRS Garnish Wages?

By Darrin Mish

Can the IRS garnish your wages? You bet they can. Under the tax code, the IRS is authorized to take this drastic measure and your employer is obligated to comply. It is officially called a tax levy. A tax levy is one of the ways the IRS collects back taxes from you. It is often done as a last resort method by the IRS because calls and repeated letters have gone without answer. If you are in such a situation, it's best to respond to the IRS' attempts to get you to pay your back taxes to avoid the dreaded tax levy. So here is what you need to know about garnish, wages, IRS audits and more.

You should realize how devastating a wage garnishment can be. The IRS can take 75% or more of your salary, leaving you with hardly anything to survive with. Some people believe that the IRS must leave you enough to pay for your housing and food, while others claim they barely have $200 a week after deduction, which would hardly pay for rent or a mortgage.

The point of a wage garnishment is actually to grab your attention and force you to communicate with the IRS. They know that many taxpayers simply refuse to speak to them and this might be the only way to get their attention. The moment you get in touch with the IRS about the garnishment on your wages then you can begin to resolve your tax problem with them.

When you contact the IRS, usually the first proposal they will make to you would be a payment plan. Many people take this first option simply because it allows them to have their full wages back and it gives them time to think about what to do from that point on. An alternative to a payment plan is to make an Offer in Compromise. An Offer in Compromise is granted to those who really cannot afford to pay off the full amount of their tax debt due to personal hardships like high medical bills, loss of job etc. Also if you can show that some part of your tax debt is actually someone else's liability, you may qualify for an Offer in Compromise. It is advisable to talk to a tax professional like an attorney about garnish, wages, IRS audits and more to get advice about what to do.

?Can the IRS Garnish Wages? is a post from: IRS Tax Problem Solver Blog - IRS Help

Full post as published by IRS Problem Solver Blog on February 05, 2010 (boomark / email).