On: July 1, 2022

Experienced Tax Experts on IRS Wage Garnishments Pasadena

 

We all work hard for our wages and want to maximize the amount of income that we can take home from work.  One obstacle to taking home the compensation that you earn at work is if you are subject to an Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) wage garnishment.

If you are in Pasadena and facing an IRS wage garnishment, you need to obtain representation from an experienced tax expert in Pasadena who has significant knowledge concerning IRS wage garnishments.

 

IRS Wage Garnishments – General

 

The IRS has many available tools to attempt to collect outstanding tax liabilities.  One such tool is an IRS wage garnishment.

A wage garnishment is a legal procedure under which a person’s wages are withheld by the person’s employer for payment of a debt.  Instead of the wages being paid to the employee, the wages are paid to the employee’s creditor.

Wage garnishments are used for many purposes besides collecting taxes.

Private creditors use wage garnishments to collect on monetary judgments.

Wage garnishments also are often used to collect child support payments.

Most wage garnishments are made pursuant to a court order.  However, IRS wage garnishments are different in that the IRS can begin to garnish wages without a court order.

For IRS wage garnishment purposes, any form of compensation for services, whether described as wages, salary, fees, commissions, bonuses, or some similar item, can be subject to an IRS wage garnishment.

IRS wage garnishments are often also referred to as IRS wage levies, as the IRS is seizing your wages to collect your tax liabilities.

 

IRS Wage Garnishments – The Process

 

While the IRS does not need a court order to begin to garnish wages, it does have to follow certain procedures.  These procedures are based on the IRS giving certain notices to the delinquent taxpayer, as follows:

1. First, the IRS will send a general notice that you have an outstanding liability. This initial notice will describe a due date for payment of the outstanding liability.  Please note that the outstanding liability may include interest and penalties, as well as a tax deficiency.
2. Second, if you have not paid the outstanding liability by the due date, you will receive a second notice from the IRS, known as Final Notice of Intent to Levy. You will have 30 days to respond to the Final Notice of Intent to Levy.

After all required notices have been sent, and all applicable time periods have expired, the IRS can commence the wage garnishment.

IRS Wage Garnishments – Exempt Amount

 

It is possible that a certain amount of your wages may be exempt from garnishment.  Any exempt amount may not be garnished by the IRS and will be paid to you.

The specific exempt amount is determined based on a variety of factors:

• Filing status;
• Number of dependents;
• Applicable pay period; and
• Standard deduction.

When your employer is advised that your wages need to be garnished, your employer receives Publication 1494, Tables for Figuring Amount Exempt from Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income, from the IRS.  Your employer will provide you with a Statement of Dependents and Filing Status to complete and return within three days.  If you do not return the Statement in three days, your exempt amount will be computed as if your filing status is married filing separately and you have no dependents (resulting in a minimal exempt amount).

As one example, if you are a single taxpayer who claims three dependents and is paid weekly, you will have $502.90 exempt from wage garnishment.

As another example, if you are a married filing jointly taxpayer who claims two dependents and is paid bi-weekly, you will have $1,334.61 exempt from wage garnishment.

There is a special table in Publication 1494 to determine an additional exempt amount for taxpayers who are at least 65 years old and/or blind.

Please note that if you have other income sources, the IRS may allocate your exempt amount to any of the other income sources and fully garnish (100%) the income from a particular employer.

 

What to Do if You Are Facing an IRS Wage Garnishment – How to Respond

 

There are three basic points to remember in dealing with IRS wage garnishments – respond, respond quickly, and respond with proper representation by an experienced tax expert who can best address IRS wage garnishments.

First, you need to respond.  IRS wage garnishments will not suddenly magically disappear.  If you do not want the IRS to take your hard-earned income, you need to take action.

Second, you need to respond quickly.  When you begin to receive the notices described above that the IRS is required to send before beginning to garnish wages, you need to take action.  The sooner you respond, the more likely you may be able to resolve the matter with the IRS before the wage garnishment even begins.  In addition, it is often easier to reach a settlement with the IRS early in the collection process than after the wage garnishment has begun.

Third, you need to respond with proper representation by an experienced tax expert who can best address IRS wage garnishments.  There are two parts here.  The first part is that the average person does not have the knowledge or experience to properly handle an IRS wage garnishment matter alone.  Instead, representation by an experienced tax expert is necessary.  The second part is that every experienced tax expert does not have the necessary knowledge and experience to be familiar with IRS wage garnishments.  You want to be represented by an experienced tax expert who has significant knowledge and experience in working on IRS wage garnishments, as well as more generally on IRS tax collection issues.

 

What to Do if You Are Facing an IRS Wage Garnishment – Experienced Tax Expert Action

  The experienced tax expert representing you can take various action to resolve your IRS wage garnishment matter, including:

• Request a Collection Due Process hearing. This approach can be helpful if a reasonable argument can be made that the IRS did not follow proper procedures or otherwise made a mistake concerning the enforcement of the wage garnishment.  It should be noted that a Collection Due Process hearing can only address issues with the IRS wage garnishment, and not also issues concerning the outstanding tax liability;
• Have you pay the outstanding tax liability and file a claim for refund. If you are able to do so, payment of the outstanding tax liability will end the IRS wage garnishment.  If a reasonable argument can be made to dispute the outstanding tax liability, you can then file a claim for refund to recover the payment;
• Have you enter into an installment agreement with the IRS. With an installment agreement, you can pay off your outstanding tax liability with smaller installment payments over time.  As long as you are timely making your installment payments, the IRS will not garnish your wages;
• Have you enter into an offer-in-compromise with the IRS. With an offer-in-compromise, you can settle your outstanding tax liability for less than the amount owed.  If you are in compliance with the terms of the offer-in-compromise, the IRS will not garnish your wages;
• Make an “economic hardship” argument. If the IRS wage garnishment is creating an immediate “economic hardship”, the IRS will release it.  An “economic hardship” occurs when the IRS determines that its wage garnishment prevents you from meeting basic, reasonable living expenses; and
• Have you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. With bankruptcy, there is an automatic stay on IRS tax collection efforts, including with respect to IRS wage garnishments.

 

Leading Tax Group – The Best Experienced Tax Experts on IRS Wage Garnishments in Pasadena

 

If you are in Pasadena and subject to an IRS wage garnishment, you need representation by the experienced tax experts from Leading Tax Group (their experienced team consists of a former IRS tax attorney, an experienced payroll tax and sales tax attorney, a retired IRS auditor (of 40+ years), and their own in-house accounting team!).

Leading Tax Group has extensive knowledge and experience concerning IRS wage garnishments, as part of its extensive knowledge and experience concerning IRS tax collection issues.  Leading Tax Group has substantial knowledge of, and successful experience in helping clients with, the various above-described actions to resolve IRS wage garnishments, including Collection Due Process hearings. claims for refund, installment agreements with the IRS, offers-in-compromise with the IRS, “economic hardship” arguments, and Chapter 13 bankruptcies.

With this extensive and substantial knowledge and extensive and successful experience, Leading Tax Group is the best experienced tax experts (their experienced team consists of a former IRS tax attorney, an experienced payroll tax and sales tax attorney, a retired IRS auditor (of 40+ years), and their own in-house accounting team!) in Pasadena to assist you with any IRS wage garnishment or other IRS tax collection issue.

Leading Tax Group has a conveniently accessible office in Pasadena at 225 S Lake Avenue, 3rd Floor.

If you are the subject of an IRS wage garnishment in Pasadena, you need the aggressive experienced tax experts from Leading Tax Group (their experienced team consists of a former IRS tax attorney, an experienced payroll tax and sales tax attorney, a retired IRS auditor (of 40+ years), and their own in-house accounting team!).

For the best experienced tax experts (their experienced team consists of a former IRS tax attorney, an experienced payroll tax and sales tax attorney, a retired IRS auditor (of 40+ years), and their own in-house accounting team!) in Pasadena, contact Leading Tax Group now at (800) 900-4250 and schedule your free consultation today!