How to Stop Wage Garnishment

No matter what kind of debt you have; mortgage debt, car payments, credit card debt, student loans or any other type of payment obligation, it’s never something you look forward to paying every month. But unfortunately, if you fail to pay your debt, you just may find your wages garnished.

What is Wage Garnishment?

If you owe money to the IRS, one of the most common methods that the IRS uses to collect your unpaid debt is wage garnishment. Aptly named, a wage garnishment is the seizing, or garnishing, of your income, or wages, to offset your debt amount. 

Why Wage Garnishment Happens 

When you’ve left an IRS debt unpaid for too long, the IRS will resort to forcibly removing your funds to pay back their debt through wage garnishment. Wage garnishments are levy actions by the federal government to collect an unpaid tax debt. Wage garnishment laws for the IRS are different from other collectors, because they do not require federal court ruling to begin collection actions. They have the full authority to act on behalf of the federal government.   Wage garnishment does not come out of the blue. When a taxpayer owes back taxes, the IRS takes considerable steps to notify the taxpayer of their debt, inform them of their options, and attempt to resolve the debt amicable. The IRS only has the authority to enforce a wage garnishment if a taxpayer has failed to respond to the IRS with a full repayment of debt or an appeal for a payment negotiation.    If a taxpayer continues to ignore these notices, the IRS will place a lien on their accounts. A lien is a right to keep possession of property belonging to the taxpayer until their debt is fully paid. Once a lien is placed on the taxpayers’ accounts, the IRS has the right to begin the wage garnishment process. 

How Wage Garnishment Works 

  • When the IRS begins to garnish your wages, they first issue a wage garnishment notification to your employer. Your employer is then legally obligated to siphon a designated portion of your paycheck to the IRS for repayment. The IRS will typically take at least a quarter of your income. While the IRS will take your current financial situation into consideration, they, they are not held responsible for the bills you have to pay, and they make little consideration if you are self-employed. In fact, if you have a spouse, he or she may have been affected if you have decided to file jointly. It is harder to stop wage garnishment and other levy actions after they have been issued. The IRS is only required to leave a single taxpayer who is filing as single $ 845 a month as a “minimum living requirement”. Any income over that amount is available for them to levy. For married individuals, the amount is $ 1362 per month.

Why Would My Wages Be Garnished?

  • Unpaid local, state and federal taxes
  • Unpaid child support
  • Unpaid student loans
  • Unpaid private creditors

Ways to Stop Wage Garnishment


Pay off the debt completely

The most obvious way to stop wage garnishment is, of course, to pay off your debt entirely. This doesn’t only include your owed debt amount, but also includes any penalties and interest you’ve incurred while your debt has remained unpaid.    For many indebted taxpayers, however, paying off debt in full simply isn’t possible. More often than not, taxpayers get into debt due to lack of funds in the first place. Most then struggle to pay back the debt amount plus the additional fees associated with the length of their debt. For that reason, there are other solutions to halt wage garnishment. 

Set up an installment agreement

For taxpayers who are unable to pay their debts in a lump sum, an IRS installment agreement is a go-to tax relief program. An installment agreement allows taxpayers to pay off their debt in small payments over the course of up to 3 years. The key is to show that you have not been negligent on previous debts, indicating that you are responsible and will agree to pay the monthly payment in full-and most importantly, on time. Note that, you’ll still continue to incur penalties and fees until the debt is fully paid off, but as your debt shrinks, so will the cost of the fees.  

Negotiate with the IRS to pay less than you owe

The IRS offers a number of other programs through the IRS Fresh Start Initiative for debt repayment. One of those is a program known as an Offer In Compromise. Essentially, you can negotiate with the IRS to settle your debt for less than the actual amount that you owe. We’ll go into depth on this later. 

Declare hardship

Tax hardship is another option for taxpayers who simply cannot afford their tax debt. If paying off your debt amount would cause you financial hardship (ie make it impossible for you to afford your basic needs), then you may qualify for the IRS hardship program. Once you qualify, you will be placed into “Currently Not Collectible” status with the IRS. As long as you remain uncollectible, the IRS cannot take any steps to collect on your debt.    While the tax hardship program can certainly buy you time, it will never erase your debt entirely. You will continue to collect penalties and interest while in CNC status. Additionally, the IRS will review your CNC status on a regular basis to ensure you still qualify. 

Declare bankruptcy

In some cases, filing for bankruptcy will stop wage garnishment. As soon as you file for bankruptcy, a “stay” will go into effect that prevents the garnishing of your wages. Your case will then need to be reviewed by a bankruptcy court. They’ll review your debt and designate whether or not your IRS debt will be discharged. If it is, the IRS will not be able to garnish your wages.    Note that bankruptcy will not prevent wage garnishment if your debt is associated with child support. 

Get professional help

Our Community Tax experts include a team of tax attorneys, enrolled agents, and certified public accountants who are experts at tax resolution to give our clients the help they need to move forward. Our licensed experts have already helped taxpayers across the nation get the help they need to settle a deal to solve issues associated with tax debt and back taxes. The members of our team have a diverse range of experience and come from across the country with a passion to help those in trouble with the IRS, whether they seek federal or local tax debt relief. Our team has saved millions of dollars for our customers in total, and we would like to continue by helping you.  

IRS Garnishment Help: An Offer in Compromise Agreement


What is an OIC?


Get Tax Help from Community Tax

If you’re facing wage garnishment, it’s important to remember that you do not need to go at it alone. Our team of tax professionals, including tax attorneys, enrolled agents, and CPAs are well equipped to prepare you for the road ahead. In addition, our experts are granted unlimited rights by the IRS to represent you before the IRS. It can not get any easier than that-never fear that you are inexperienced and inadequate to the IRS, because we can give you the confidence by representing you.   Our tax professionals are here to solve your tax issues. Call us today for more information about how to stop IRS garnishment, levy actions and get out of tax debt.