What is a Wage Levy?

A wage levy is when the IRS contacts your employer and lets your employer know that you owe money to the IRS and that the IRS wants money from your paycheck to be sent to the IRS.

This is usually a fairly unpleasant experience because the IRS is going to take money from your paycheck.  Depending on how much money you earn, they are going to take a large portion of your paycheck.

However, if you are not making much money, they may not take that much money.

In some situations the taxpayer will not be making enough money for the IRS to even honor the wage levy.

The employer has an obligation to comply with the IRS and a Wage Levy is when actual money is taken out of your paycheck, but not in all cases.

If the Wage Levy is honored and you are earning above a certain amount, money will be taken out of your paycheck.

That money will go to the IRS for every paycheck until the taxpayer has dealt with the problem, either by paying the tax in full, or by entering into an acceptable solution to the IRS, and the employer receives a release of levy from the IRS.