According to the 2007 Taxpayer Advocate Service Annual Report to Congress the IRS is expanding its FPLP collection initiatives. The Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) is an automated system that matches IRS records against those of the government's Financial Management Service (FMS) and allows continuous levies to be issued for up to 15 percent of federal payments due to taxpayers who have unpaid federal tax liabilities. FPLP levies can attach to a variety of sources of federal income, ranging from salaries of federal employees to retirement income to federal contractor (or vendor) payments. However until recently the bulk of all FPLP levy payments received have from Social Security recipients.
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The threat of asset seizures by the IRS is usually enough to get most taxpayers to pay their back taxes. If your IRS Problems are severe enough for you to be worried about the seizure of your assets to pay off your tax debt, then it is time to seek professional help. The IRS usually uses this tactic as a last resort. If you have been ignoring the IRS notices regarding your tax debt, it will have grown from both the addition of penalties and interest. Now is the time to work things out before your tax debt gets any bigger.
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Almost every day I hear a story that goes like this:
Client – "Ummm….I was supposed to get paid at work today and my boss told me that I wasn't getting a paycheck. I don't know why the IRS took my paycheck. But I haven't filed a tax return in a few years. They never even gave me any notice that they were going to take my paycheck. Now how am I going to pay my _____________?"
Me – "Have you moved since you filed your last tax return?"
Client – "Yeah, we moved since then. What's the big deal?"
Me – "You didn't happen to send them a Change of Address did you?"
Client – "Why in the %@#%^& would I want to do that?"
The answer is, of course, that if you don't file a tax return and then you move, the IRS has no idea where you live. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not defending the IRS here but we need to use a little common sense.
Yes, yes they have sophisticated computer systems and databases, and you can bet your bottom dollar they COULD find you if they wanted to. But the law doesn't require them to put much effort into warning you that a levy (garnishment) is imminent. They simply need to send notice to your last KNOWN address. This quite often, is not your current address. So you're cruising along through life thinking that IRS thing hasn't blown up maybe it never will.
Well, I'm here to tell you that these things can pop up when you least expect them. So the moral to this story is twofold. 1. File your returns even if you owe money that you can't pay.
2. File a Change of Address form (Form 8822) whenever you move.
Then at least you will receive the Final Notice of Intent to Levy notice BEFORE your paycheck gets taken by the IRS and you'll have a chance to prevent it from happening. Take it from someone who has to try to get wage levies released all the time. A pound of prevention is worth ten tons of cure!
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If you have in hand the dreaded IRS Notice of Intent to Levy Wages notice, you need help to resolve your IRS Problems. You will need to take action soon or you will not have control of your money. This stressful financial and emotional situation will affect you and your family.
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If you owe back taxes one option the IRS can use to collect them is a tax levy. If you have received notice from the IRS of a tax levy, your IRS Problems have reached a critical point. It is now time for you to explore your options.
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