FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about Wage Levies and our Services

How much of my paycheck can IRS take?
What about all the penalties and interest they have added onto the tax I owe? Do I have to pay them in addition to the tax?
I haven't filed tax returns for one or more years in the past. Will that make any difference?
But if I prepare those tax returns (or if I get you or someone else to prepare them) and then mail them in to the IRS, won't that take a long time before the tax returns show up on their computer system? Like maybe 6 to 8 weeks?
So during that 6 to 8 weeks, will I be losing money to their IRS Wage Levy on my paychecks?
So is there any way to speed up this filing process and save me some money?
But I haven't filed tax returns for several of the years that they say I owe taxes for. How can they say I owe taxes if I never filed any tax returns for those particular years?
They've already taken some of my paycheck. Can I get that money back?

So how long can they keep this levy going?
But if I owe them all this money and they can keep the levy going until all these taxes are paid, then they'll never release the levy, will they?
Is it possible for me to talk to them on the phone and get them to issue this IRS Wage Levy Release by myself?
But how is it that you can get this IRS Wage Levy Release in 3 to 5 days and you say that I won't be able to get it on my own?
But why do you do this kind of work - arguing with those people at IRS all the time?
So can you really get me that IRS Wage Levy Release before my next payday?
Why do you want me to download your Free IRS Wage Levy Release Info Pack?
Okay. I'm convinced. But tell it to me straight. Let me hear you say that 100% Guarantee I see all over your website, will you?

How much of my paycheck can IRS take?: IRS can often take up to 80% of your net take-home pay. They send your employer some paperwork that helps compute how much they are supposed to deduct from your check, but whatever the amount is ...... it will hurt.
What about all the penalties and interest they have added onto the tax I owe? Do I have to pay them in addition to the tax?: Yes. Interest is statutory. That means it's "by law." Since it is statutory, there's really nothing we or anyone else can do to get the interest reduced. IRS interest rates are always lower than any other interest rate you can find at a bank or on a credit card.
Some penalties can be reduced or even completely eliminated (abated), but most often this will not be possible. IRS has some very strict guidelines and rules that must be met before they will reduce any of your penalties, and we find that more than 90% of the people we talk to don't meet those guidelines.
You can try to get the penalties reduced, but while you're doing it you'll still be suffering from your IRS Wage Levy that will be taking a lot of money out of every paycheck you receive while you're waiting on IRS to respond to your penalty abatement request. IRS will take more than six weeks to respond, so you really need to do something about the levy before you concern yourself too much with penalties.
I haven't filed tax returns for one or more years in the past. Will that make any difference?: It sure will. IRS will not release your IRS Wage Levy before at least your last six tax returns have been filed. The IRS representatives we talk to every day at Practitioner Priority Service (PPS) and Automated Collection Service (ACS) require your last six tax returns. If you are dealing with a local IRS Collection Office's Revenue Officer, you will probably be required to file each and every tax return that has not yet been filed.
But if I prepare those tax returns (or if I get you or someone else to prepare them) and then mail them in to the IRS, won't that take a long time before the tax returns show up on their computer system?: It certainly will. IRS tells us that it will usually take them 6 to 8 weeks to process your tax returns and enter them onto their computer system so that all IRS employees can see that they've been received and processed.
So during that 6 to 8 weeks, will I be losing money to their IRS Wage Levy on my paycheck?: Of course you will. After all, that's what IRS wants, isn't it? They want to collect as much of your money as quickly as they possibly can, don't they? That's why they tell you to mail in your tax returns - so they can get more of your money while you sweat and suffer and worry and eat beans and cornbread for the next two months.
So is there any way to speed up this filing process and save me some money?: Yes, there is. Since we've been negotiating with them for over 20 years to get IRS Wage Levy Releases, we're able to deliver your tax returns to them in a very special filing procedure that will get your tax returns processed into their computer system in one day! No joke. This way, we can get your IRS Wage Levy Release in a matter of 3 to 5 days rather than 6 to 8 weeks.
But I haven't filed tax returns for several years that they say I owe taxes for. How can they say I owe taxes if I never filed any tax returns for those particular years?: IRS has a lot of power, don't they? You're talking about what IRS refers to as a "Substitute For Return", or SFR. If you don't file a tax return, then IRS can file one for you. Isn't that nice of them? Watching out for you like that? They will take all of your income information that has been sent to them - W-2s and 1099s, mostly - and they will prepare your SFR "tax return" and compute your income tax and add penalties and interest and send you a bill for it and then they can levy your wages just as if you had filed a "real" tax return by yourself. Of course, they will compute your income as high as possible without giving any deductions and then they will compute your tax at the highest rate possible; this will make your tax as high as they can get it. Pretty slick, isn't it?
They've already taken some of my paycheck. Can I get that money back?: No. Absolutely not. Won't happen. Kiss it goodbye. Really, it's pretty much a case of once they get their hands on your money, you don't think they're going to let you have any of it back, do you? However, if your payroll department hasn't sent your money to IRS yet, you should be able to get it back. Just talk to your payroll department.
So how long can they keep this levy going?: They can keep it going as long as you owe them any money.
But if I owe them all this money and they can keep the levy going until all these taxes are paid, then they'll never release the levy, will they?: They'll release the levy, but only under certain circumstances. You have to meet a very specific set of guidelines and rules before they will issue an IRS Wage Levy Release to your employer.
Is it possible for me to talk to them on the phone and get them to issue this IRS Wage Levy Release by myself?: Yes. But remember, you'll be playing their game and you'll be playing it by their rules and you'll be playing it in their back yard. So who do think is going to win and who do you think will be the loser? And if the loser is you, you'll be losing a lot of money you need to pay your bills, won't you?
But how is it that you can get this IRS Wage Levy Release in 3 to 5 days and you say that I won't be able to get it on my own?: We didn't say you couldn't get it on your own. We just said it was going to be difficult for you to do it. Look at it this way: you are probably good at whatever it is you do for a living. We probably don't understand how to do your job and we would probably not be very good at doing it. However, we've been negotiating IRS Wage Levy Releases for over 20 years, so we're really good at it. Plus, it's just about all we do now. We know the rules and regulations that IRS must follow; we also know how to make all the calculations they have to make to see whether or not they even have to release your levy; we also know when they're right and when they're wrong about anything they say (you don't think that everything they tell you is the absolute truth, do you?) So its not really so much the work we do that makes the difference. Its the knowledge we have and the way we use it that makes us so good at what we do.
But why do you do this kind of work - arguing with those people at IRS all the time?: For some strange reason, we really like this work. We know it front to back and forwards and backwards and we're very good at it. Also, we really don't spend much of our time arguing with those people at IRS much at all. We're very professional about this work and we prefer to keep our relationship with everyone at IRS on a professional and polite basis. That way, they will enjoy talking to us and be happy the next time when we identify ourselves and they think, "Oh, yeah. I remember them. They are the ones who joke around with me and tease me a little bit and makes me laugh. They're really pleasant and I like them. But they're good at what they do and they drive a hard bargain and don't give an inch and always gets me to fax them that IRS Wage Levy Release."
So can you really get me that IRS Wage Levy Release before my next payday?: Probably so. But you have to give us enough time to get it done. Sometimes just a day or two is enough time; but if you have unfiled tax returns and a lot of verification that IRS wants to see, it could take longer.
Why do you want me to download your Free IRS Wage Levy Release Info Pack?: If you do that, and then read the Pack and take a few minutes to fill out the Client Info Sheets and fax them to us, then we'll have a lot of our own questions already answered before you call us, and we won't have to spend so much time on the phone going over that particular information. We have to get this information from everyone who becomes a client, so its a lot easier to provide it for you in a downloadable format and let you go ahead and get it ready for us than it is to have to discuss it all with you on the phone and take up 30 minutes or longer when we could use that time to talk to IRS to get your levy released.
So download the Free IRS Wage Levy Release Info Pack and read it and complete those two short Client Info Sheets and then fax them to us. It will save us both a lot of time - and a lot of time is what you don't have right now.
Okay. I'm convinced. But tell it to me straight. Let me hear you say that 100% Guarantee I see all over your website, will you?: Okay. If we can't get you an IRS Wage Levy Release, then you won't pay us a dime. How's that? But be ready to pay, because we don't lose.

FAQ for our services