Wage Garnishments

Facing a wage garnishment is frustrating and even frightening. A wage garnishment can severely restrict your budget, making it difficult to take care of important things like bills and mortgage payments.

At Tax Crisis Institute, we will help you understand all the aspects of a wage garnishment— what it is, how to deal with it, and how to stop/avoid it. As a family-run business, we will assist you directly, taking the time to sit down and talk with you face to face, unlike the national chains. You won’t have to worry about mailing or faxing important documents. Our mission is to offer personalized tax solutions to the families in our communities, so they can find their way back to stable financial ground.

A wage garnishment is when an employer is required to send part of an employee’s wages directly to a third party to whom the employee owes money. That employee would then receive a deducted paycheck until their debt is paid off in full.

For example, if you haven’t been paying your taxes, the IRS can institute an IRS wage garnishment. Your employer would receive a notice from the IRS requiring them to garnish your wages – a process they are not permitted to refuse.

Your employer would then be required to send a portion of your paycheck directly to the government, rather than to your bank account. They would be legally obligated to continue to make deductions from your paycheck until the debt that you owed was eradicated.

When Wage Garnishments are issued?

To start a garnishment, the IRS must have assessed your individual tax case and sent you a “Notice and Demand for Payment” to your last listed address. If you refuse or neglect to pay the taxes owed within the time frame provided in that notice, the IRS will send a “Final Notice of Intent to Levy” and “Notice of Your Right to a Hearing”.

After these documents have been sent, the government only has to wait thirty days before issuing a garnishment.

Clearly, having a wage garnishment can lead to a difficult financial situation. Some of the most significant consequences include:

• Reduced wages
• A lowered credit score
• Difficulty opening a new line of credit or a new bank account.

Avoiding a Wage Garnishment

The best way to avoid a wage garnishment is to simply pay your taxes on time and in full. However, if you don’t have the money, or you will not have the money by the time that your taxes are due, try filing for an extension. Show the government that you are taking responsibility for your taxes, and your chances of receiving a wage garnishment will decrease.

If you file for an extension or receive any of the above notices from the government, it is important that you seek help with your tax situation as soon as possible. Work with a tax professional to ensure that you are doing all that you can to communicate with the IRS and keep yourself in good standing with the government.

Stopping your wage garnishment as soon as possible is always in your best interest. Learn all that you can about your situation, work closely with a tax professional, and keep an open line of communication with the IRS to stop your wage garnishment as quickly as possible.

Contact the professionals at Tax Crisis Institute today and get the help you need with your wage garnishment!