WEBEL LAW, PLLC
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New York, New York 10017
(646) 373-1055

WHAT IS WAGE GARNISHMENT?

Wage Garnishment is the humiliating and financially devastating experience where the IRS contacts your employer and intercepts your wages before they're converted into a paycheck. Your employer has no choice. They must divert a portion of your wages, commissions, and bonuses to the IRS. Instead of flowing into your bank account, where you'll use it to pay your family's rent, utilities, healthcare, and more, your hard-earned money is deposited into the government's account. That hurts. You can't pay your bills when a substantial portion of your paycheck is taken.

A wage garnishment isn't a one-time event. Instead, you'll get ticked off every time you see how much money has been taken every time you see your paycheck. It's almost as bad as paying alimony. At least with a wage garnishment, the money will pay your debt and not pay for your ex's new car.

To add further insult, some employers don't take kindly to the extra effort they're forced to take to satisfy your IRS debt. They also may lose confidence in you and assume that if you're in trouble with the IRS, you may not be a good representative of them as an employee. Legally, Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) prohibits employers from discharging you because the IRS or someone else has garnished your wages for a single debt. However, you lose that protection if a second or subsequent debt causes your wages to be garnished. Furthermore, nothing stops your employer from giving others opportunities instead of you. Besides, having your wages garnished is embarrassing.

IRS wage garnishments make it impossible to pay your bills because they take so much from your paycheck. The IRS doesn't ask you how much you can afford to have taken from your paycheck. Instead, they take as much as they legally can. They're supposed to leave you enough to live on, but you'll have difficulty paying your basic bills. There won't be enough to pay other bills, probably leading to additional financial and personal trouble. It's a slippery slope that takes you down into areas that you never want to go.

A wage garnishment remains until your tax debt is paid or until the IRS decides to release it. That's where our law firm can help you. We represent taxpayers by researching opportunities where the IRS can be convinced or forced to drop overly aggressive and financially debilitating collection actions that put you in hardship. Call us for a free consultation.

If you don't receive a paycheck because you're retired, don't assume you're immune from an IRS wage garnishment. A portion of your retirement or pension check can be garnished too.