How to Stop IRS Wage Garnishment or Release a Tax Wage Levy

If you are being faced with an IRS wage garnishment it is important to act fast to limit the impact that it has on your financial wellbeing. The IRS will continue to take money with little regard to your other financial needs. There are many methods that can be used to stop a wage levy.  The method you use should be determined by your tax, financial, and work situation. The most ideal method to choose would be one that resolves your tax problem and stops the levy. Sometimes it is not possible to resolve the levy at the time being and you may have to settle for a method to stop the levy to buy time in order to resolve the tax problem.

In the ideal situation a wage garnishment will be stopped and taxes will be resolved at the same time or very soon afterwards. When the IRS sends their final notice of intent to levy they mention that you need to pay in full or come to some other form of arrangement to prevent the levy from happening. Typically you can still do that even after the levy has taken effect. Below are some methods to pay in full or make some other form of arrangement.

• Pay Taxes in Full – Once taxes have been paid in full the wage garnishment will immediately stop. Even if you can’t pay in full maybe you can borrow from family or friends (not recommended), have a garage sale and sell some assets, refinance your home, or even try to pay taxes on a credit card (also not recommended).
• Enter into an Installment Agreement – An installment agreement is an agreement between you and the IRS that says you will pay off your tax debt in monthly increments until everything has been completely paid off. Once you have an installment agreement accepted by the IRS the wage garnishment will be stopped. You will remain in good standing with the IRS as long as you keep up on your monthly payments and do not default on your agreement. The IRS prefers this method to be used if taxes cannot be paid in full.
• File for an Offer in Compromise – An offer in compromise is an IRS program that allows taxpayers to settle for less than the total amount that they owe. This is a very hard filing to get accepted and only a small portion of them are actually accepted by the IRS. If you are considering this type of filing it is highly suggested that you do some in-depth research to see if you are actually a likely candidate or you should consult with a tax attorney to get their opinion. When you file for an offer in compromise your wage levy will typically be delayed until your offer has been reviewed. It will not stop it if the IRS thinks you are using the filing as a stalling tactic though. If your offer is accepted you will be considered in good standing with the IRS and no wage levy will exist.
• Get Declared Uncollectible – The IRS does have some guidelines as to when it is unfair to collect from a taxpayer. The only problem is they will not stop collecting until it is proved to them that it is unfair to collect from the taxpayer. If you can prove to the IRS that the garnishing of your wages causes financial hardship the garnishment will be stopped. This is only a temporary solution and does not resolve the tax problem. This can buy some time to resolve the problem because the IRS will reassess your situation at sometime in the future to determine if you are in a financial situation where it would not cause financial hardship to collect.

IRS garnishment can be very difficult to deal with and it is important that you act fast to limit the effectiveness of this collection method. It is highly suggested that you consult with a tax professional when dealing an IRS wage garnishment because they can quickly analyze your tax, financial, and work situation to come up with the best solution for you.  Visit TaxDebtHelp.com to find more solutions to handling IRS wage garnishment and help.