What You Need To Know About the IRS Tax Levy

The IRS has extraordinary collection powers. With a tax levy it can take and sell off your property, freeze your bank account and garnish your wages. now your rights and get so!e professional expert tax help.

The IRS likes to point out that our federal inco!e tax syste! is largely based on the voluntary cooperation of our citizenry. The foundation is the annual tax return where !ost honest people report what they earn and settle up using a for!ula that subtracts what was paid up front fro! what the progressive tax table says should be paid. If the latter is substantially !ore than the for!er, the IRS takes on a far less benign role and beco!es a collection agency on steroids. "nce a taxpayer neglects to pay an outstanding tax debt, the IRS has a nu!ber of options in collecting what is owed# It can confiscate and sell off the taxpayer$s property % car, boat, ho!e. It can go after property that is yours but is held or controlled by so!eone else % your paycheck, bank account, any inco!e sources, and even the cash loan value of your life insurance policy. The foregoing is referred to as a tax levy. The IRS definition#

A levy is a legal seizure of your property to satisfy a tax debt. Levies are different from liens. A lien is a claim used as security for the tax debt, while a levy actually takes the property to satisfy the tax debt. The IRS does not si!ply show up one day and take what you have. They usually levy only after the following criteria are !et# &. They assessed the tax and !ailed you a for!al 'otice and (e!and for )ay!ent. *. +ou refused to pay or neglected to respond to the afore!entioned notice. ,. +ou received a for! -inal 'otice of Intent to .evy and 'otice of +our Right to / 0earing at least ,1 days before they take your property. /lso, the IRS isn$t interested in causing your fa!ily to go hungry. In fact, if the levy on your paycheck or bank account causes a definite hardship, you$ll need to contact the IRS i!!ediately and tell the! about your financial situation. If the IRS agrees with you, you could get the levy released, but you are still liable to pay the balance after working out a scheduled pay!ent plan. Your rights of appeal +ou can ask an IRS !anager to look at your case or re2uest what the IRS calls a 3ollection (ue )rocess hearing with the IRS "ffice of /ppeals with the IRS office listed on your notice. +ou have ,1 days fro! the date of the IRS notice. +our appeal can be based on a nu!ber of factors including# )rocedural errors on the part of the IRS auditor +our lack of opportunity to dispute the auditor$s findings 4xpiration of the statute of li!itations covering collection of the back taxes 5usually three years after the tax return is filed6 +our status as undergoing bankruptcy at the ti!e the levy was assessed It s a !ungle in there The IRS presides over an enor!ously co!plex Tax 3ode and acco!panying set of rules, regulations and procedures. If there is a botto! line, it is that the IRS agent who audits your return knows where everything is and can use it to !ake you pay up. If you get wrapped around the axle of the IRS !achinery, it !ay be ti!e to get so!e professional tax help and

representation by a person whose 7ob it is to protect your interests, rather than those of the vast federal govern!ent. hat!s what we at "ptima ax #elief do and we have senior tax experts standing by to help. ell us what you owe and where you live and receive a free tax consultation.

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