The IRS Garnishment - Ouch That Hurts!
Posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
by Anthony Cannon
Do It Yourself Tax Releif
One of the worst things that can happen if you are a tax debtor is an IRS garnishment or tax levy. Tax debtors can go for years before IRS collection activities finally catch up to them. It seems the sluggish bureaucracy lulls one into a false sense of security. While the delay from tax due to tax levy may be sluggish, the action of a tax garnishment is not. In fact, it may be the harshest financial event you ever experience and should be avoided if at all possible.
Maybe you're left with a couple of hundred dollars weekly until the entire tax debt is paid off, including penalties and interest. Most people are financially devastated. Depending on how much you make and how large your tax debt is, you could go for years without a paycheck. Although the longest most people can take the punishment is a few months. At that point, most will quit their job and seek employment elsewhere, thinking that will help.
Recent laws call for employers to notify the IRS of new hires within 2 days of the start date. I've seen people go through four new jobs only to see the first paycheck garnished four times in a row. Finally, they pay our lawyers to stop the seizures. You see hiring tax professional to stop a garnishment is an expensive process also, although an affordable alternative is now available (more on that later).
To stop a garnishment you lay bare your finances to the IRS and make a deal. You can go this alone or hire a CPA, Attorney or Enrolled Agent to perform this task. Usual fees for a tax professional to remove a garnishment start at $3,500 and travel upward. Further, the entire fee must be paid up front. The garnishment is so financially devastating that attorney fees not collected in advance are rarely collected at all.
The types of income that can be seized via a "Notice of Levy" are wide sweeping. We get calls all the time asking, "They can't take my social security can they?" Our answer - "Didn't you just say they did?" The IRS website states "We could levy property that is yours but is held by someone else (such as your wages, retirement accounts, dividends, bank accounts, licenses, rental income, accounts receivables, the cash loan value of your life insurance, or commissions)."
You will notice the terms used to describe where you could be levied are quite broad. Notice "accounts receivables" making 1099 workers subject to levies. However, the IRS has expanded that to your customers if you own a business. I have even seen construction loans levied at the bank because a sub-contractor employed a guy with tax debt. Mind you, the construction loan was to a developer who hired an engineering firm, who hired a builder, who hired a sheet rock sub-contractor, who hired the person with the tax debt. That is very aggressive on the IRS's part. I'm sure the hapless sheet-rocker will have a difficult time finding work in the same area.
If you have a tax debt issue, we highly suggest making an arrangement with the IRS before a garnishment wipes you out. We know most people with tax debt do not have the ability to write a check to the IRS for the outstanding balance. The IRS knows this as well. If that's your situation, you need some tax relief. A majority of taxpayers qualify for government-sponsored tax relief programs. These programs provide a guilt free sanctuary where this issue can be resolved once and for all. Our company offers "Do It Yourself Tax Relief Kits" teaching you how to solve your own tax debt issues inexpensively. Support is provided via email from experienced tax professionals.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Hi Anthony, thank you for these tips and important reminders to keep on top of our taxes. This article was well written and flowed well.
Wow the IRS can really put the squeeze on a person! ouch is right
This is some good info, thanks Anthony
Good job and now the new tool of the banks, they send you a 1099r on that short sale home or that credit card write off. yes and now guess what, you got it everything, yes including your oenbsion and social security can be attached.I think the 1009r is some of the most onerous taxation that's ever been enacted. Its actually one of the reason I made the Do It Your Self Tax Relief website.
When you are so broke you lose your home there is no way to pay income tax on the lost money. Yet the IRS will still try to collect. Usually it is a big number as well, if the bank sells your home for say $100,000 less than the mortgage you'll owe the feds almost $50,000 in back taxes. Further, they treat you like you cheated on your income tax form for not reporting the pretend income. The bank usually sends the 1099r to the home they just tossed you out of as that is your last known address.
The whole 1099R thing is a travesty.
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