IRS Law Blog

A common question about the impact of an IRS levy on a bank account: I just looked up my bank account balance, and saw that the IRS sent a levy to my bank.  The bank...

The IRS appears to be human, and it makes legal and administrative errors when seizing property, says the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). TIGTA just completed a review of 50 IRS property seizures...

A reader asks the following regarding IRS levies on social security benefits: What is the difference between an automated federal levy on social security and a manual tax levy, and why does the IRS choose...

An IRS levy on your bank account can be disastrous – checks not clearing, bank service charges, and concern over paying basic living expenses from the lost funds. The good news is that tax law...

Retirement accounts are considered to be an investment that is protected from creditors.  But here is an interesting question from a reader about a big exception to that rule (yes, it is the IRS): Several...

IRS Revenue Officers are the most experienced and sophisticated collection employees within the IRS. They work high dollar cases identified by the IRS to be of significance.  Focus is often given to business cases, employment tax liabilities,...

Here is a reason to always file your tax returns… I just resolved a case where my clients did not file their 2000 and 2001 returns. This resulted in the IRS making an estimate of...

The IRS cannot take collection action against the separate income of a non-liable spouse. If separate tax returns are filed, only the person who signed and filed the return is legally obligated to pay the taxes....

If you cannot pay your delinquent taxes because of an economic hardship, the IRS can suspend collection efforts against you.  This does not mean your debt is forgiven; just that the IRS will defer collection...

Here are the final five situations to look for when the IRS cannot take collection action: When the value of the property is protected by exemptions provided by Section 6334 of the Internal Revenue Code....

Here are five more situations in which the IRS is barred from taking collection action against you: When the timeframe to collect the liability has expired.  The IRS has 10 years to collect a liability...

The list of when the IRS cannot take property is fairly extensive, so I will do this in parts to break it down simply. Here is Part I of when the IRS is prohibited from...

I recently received a email question inquiring about how the IRS values retirement assets in an offer in compromise. If you do not have the right to access the retirement money, then neither does the...

I have seen an increase in calls to my office from retirees who have received an IRS levy on their Social Security benefits.  In most every case, the levy (1) relates to conduct from self-employment...

In the vast majority of cases, you will not lose any of your stuff to the IRS.  Most clothing and personal household belongings are beyond the scope of the IRS collection power.  Here’s why: Section...

IRS enforced collection activity continues to heat up.  Compromise settlements are down by 70% while bad debt accounts continue to accumulate.  Here are the numbers: 1.     779,000 taxpayer accounts were assigned to the IRS collection queue. 2....

IRS collection letters often look similar, and all seem intimidating. But they are not. I get calls from my clients all the time who have received IRS collection letters and are in a state of...