I Owe the IRS and Am Worried About an IRS Levy, how Do I Prevent It?

An IRS Levy is the taking of any property or right to property that belongs to you or any property that has a federal tax lien attached to it unless that property is exempt. Certain minimal personal property items are exempt from levy and certain types of income are fully or partially exempt.

Before the IRS can levy your property or your income it must provide you with a notice of the debt and a demand for payment, a notice of it's intent to levy, and finally a final notice of it's intent and your right to a hearing.

The final notice can be served on you in person, left at your home or mailed certified to your last known address.

The IRS will levy only when the you are not responsive to their demands for information. The best way to prevent a levy is to RESPOND. Pick up the phone and call or hire someone to do it for you. The IRS should discuss the case with you and set up a timeline for providing the documents necessary to arrange a payment plan.

There is one thing that people often ask a Mesa tax lawyer, and that is how to prevent a levy or a collection generally by the IRS when they know they owe, and they know the IRS is on the way.

Responding is not just about making a phone call. Responding may also include filing a formal request for a payment plan or compromise with a financial statement and other required documents or filing a Collection Due Process Appeal in response to a final notice of intent to levy or it may even include the filing of a Bankruptcy.

No matter what, if you have an IRS debt, the worst thing you can do is…to do nothing.

If you do nothing, the IRS will levy you.