IRS Wage Garnishment: How to Stop It

An IRS wage levy takes a percentage of every paycheck until the debt is paid or you take action. Unlike a bank levy, which is a one-time grab, a wage levy is continuous under IRC §6331. Your employer has no choice — they must comply.

The IRS can only levy after meeting specific prerequisites. They must have assessed the tax, sent a notice and demand for payment under IRC §6303, and issued a Final Notice of Intent to Levy at least 30 days before the levy. They must also offer Collection Due Process rights under IRC §6330.

What They Cannot Take

The IRS must leave you with a minimum exempt amount based on the standard deduction plus personal exemptions, calculated on a pay-period basis. This is published annually in IRS Publication 1494. For most people, the exempt amount covers basic subsistence but not much more.

How to Get a Wage Levy Released

Under IRC §6343, the IRS must release a levy if the liability is satisfied, the collection statute has expired, the levy creates economic hardship, or you enter into an installment agreement. In practice, the fastest path is usually entering an installment agreement or demonstrating that the levy is creating economic hardship.

A Collection Due Process hearing request filed within 30 days of the levy notice will stop enforcement while the hearing is pending. If you missed that window, you can still request an equivalent hearing, though it will not halt collection.

Do not wait. Every pay period that passes is money gone. Contact us today to get the levy released.

Tax attorney Darrin Mish has spent 32 years getting taxpayers out of IRS trouble. Free consultation — no obligation.