Naples Wage Garnishment Attorney
When an individual fails to pay income taxes, the IRS may be able to garnish that person’s wages in order to recover the amount of money owed. Wage garnishments are just one tool the IRS has through which it can collect unpaid tax debt, and it is important to do everything you can to avoid having your wages garnished. Once the IRS has garnished wages, it can be difficult to have a levy released unless you can pay the full tax burden owed. Whether you are concerned about the possibility of wage garnishment or you need assistance having a wage levy lifted or released, you should get in touch with a Naples wage garnishment attorney who can assist you.
What is a Wage Garnishment
Wage garnishment, which may also be described as a wage levy or having wages attached, is a tool that creditors can use in order to recover unpaid debt. In the context of taxes and wage garnishment, the IRS can take a person’s wages if they do not pay their taxes and do not work out a payment plan or alternative arrangement with the IRS. Technically speaking, the IRS uses the term “levy” to describe its ability to seize a person’s property or wages. The IRS expressly defines as a levy as a tool through which it can “garnish wages, take money in your bank or other financial account, seize and sell your vehicle(s), real estate, and other personal property.”
In order for the IRS to garnish your wages, it must provide you with notice and the ability to set up a short-term payment plan or an installment plan, or to make other arrangements. To be clear, the IRS cannot immediately begin seizing your wages once you have a tax debt that is unpaid. In most circumstances, the path toward a wage garnishment begins when an individual receives a hard-copy notice in the mail from the IRS about unpaid taxes. The individual may know that she or he owes taxes and has not paid them, or the IRS may have conducted an assessment and determined that the individual owes taxes that have not been paid. Once you receive a tax bill, it is important to seek help negotiating a payment plan or arrangement with the IRS so that you do not face consequences such as wage garnishment.
If you do not respond to a tax bill from the IRS, then the IRS will typically take additional steps in order to recover the unpaid taxes you owe. Prior to garnishing wages, the IRS must send you a Notice of Intent to Levy. Once you receive that notice, if you fail to take steps to arrange for payment of your taxes, then the IRS may be able to garnish your wages.
Contact a Wage Garnishment Lawyer at Ronald Cutler, P.A.
At Ronald Cutler, P.A., we have years of experience representing taxpayers in a wide variety of tax law matters. If you have questions or concerns about wage garnishment, you should contact an experienced Naples wage garnishment attorney for assistance.
