The IRS does give you ample warning that they
intend to levy your bank account. You undoubtedly received the notice
and demand for payment from the IRS which included the amount you owed
in back taxes. You probably did not contact the IRS at that time, and
that was very important. The next communication you received was called
the “Final Notice” which did express their Intent to Levy and also
included a notice of your right to a hearing after the levy has been
placed. That final notice arrives 30 days before the IRS actually talks
with your bank and proceeds with freezing your accounts. It comes in
the form of a certified letter directly from the IRS. If you are now
facing the impending crisis of the IRS bank levy, then you have
obviously procrastinated the handling of your IRS past due tax problem
(probably because you did not have the money to pay the back taxes).
All is not lost and it is still possible to stop the IRS levy. However,
the time to act is right now. You need fast, professional tax debt help
and you have just 21 days to get this handled, and the clock is
counting down each day!
An IRS levy is clearly one of the most powerful
collection tools in the IRS arsenal and the IRS bank levy can be
incredibly frightening when the freeze is actually implemented. Once
the IRS freezes your bank account, you have no access to your funds.
They are waiting for the “21 days to expire” before they withdraw these
funds to pay your delinquent tax debt bill. Any personal bills that you
have that need to be paid in this timeframe will not get paid. In fact,
you will probably be hit with insufficient funds fees and the refusal
of any preset automated debits you have set up on your account to pay
for goods/services. Even the newly deposited funds that come in as
paycheck direct deposits will be frozen once they are received by your
bank! The IRS intends to be paid the back tax money that you owe, one
way or the other. Keep in mind that your bank is required by law to
comply with the IRS bank levy and hold all funds that have been
deposited into your bank accounts. They will not be able to provide you
with any tax debt help in this matter.
During the 21 day period, it is now prudent to
seek expert IRS tax debt help so that a tax attorney or tax specialist
is able to negotiate with the IRS to release the funds. Unless an IRS
bank levy release is obtained, once the 21 day period has expired, the
bank sends the money to the IRS and you will never get it back. You may
also consider contacting the Taxpayers Advocate in your area. This
would require you to complete paperwork to prove economic hardship in
hopes of having the IRS bank levy “lifted” or released. Time is of the
essence and your financial future does hang in the balance.
Other Important Things
You Need to Know About an IRS Levy:
· How does the IRS know where I bank? The IRS
knows your banks accounts from the 1099’s that are filed every year
with your tax returns. Even if your tax returns are unfiled, they have
still received those 1099’s from the financial institutions themselves.
What other accounts might be affected?
Certificates of Deposit and any account where you have your name and
social security number listed. Keep in mind that if you have joint
accounts for whatever reason, with family members or even friends,
those will be subject to the IRS bank levy also.
What types of accounts are excluded from an IRS
Levy? Life Insurance, Worker’s Compensation, Benefits received from the
Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and Scholarships or Grants.
Will the IRS levy both my bank account and my
wages too? The IRS does not typically levy both your bank accounts and
your wages. They intend to be paid for your delinquent taxes, but they
must leave you just enough to live on, and while they “can” enforce an
IRS levy on your wages and your bank accounts, they don’t tend to
collect past due taxes in this manner.
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/accounting-articles/tax-debt-help-
needed-how-can-i-stop-an-irs-bank-levy-542479.html About the Author
Liv Worthington has worked in the debt management
field for many years. She also offers advice on IRS levy
solutions for those taxpayers who need urgent tax debt help
for serious IRS matters like an IRS bank levy
and the freezing of bank accounts. |
