How To Prevent Wage Garnishment For Taxes

Anyone who owes back taxes for any reason can rest assured that eventually, the government is going to gets its money. It might take a while to get things organized and come after you for the money you owe, but you will only be able to evade your problems for so long. Even if the issue was based on an honest mistake and you did not realize you miscalculated, you are going to have to pay the money you owe. Sometimes you are able to set up a payment plan. Other times, the government provides an offer in compromise (OIC). If neither of these options works, they conduct IRS wage garnishments.

This occurs when money is taken directly out of your paycheck each week, bi-weekly or monthly to pay your government debt. It is likely to be handled in part by the government and your employer, unless you are self-employed or unemployed. This creates an awkward situation between you and your employer. They know you have money issue and might feel uncomfortable continuing to employ you without an explanation for the problem. You might also feel embarrassed because you have made a mistake and everyone knows you are now being made to clear it up. Instead of having this process handled through your employer and your paycheck, consider dealing directly with the government. There are several options you have for fixing the problem without your employer even knowing what is going on.

First, speak with the government representative about a payment plan. Depending on how large the amount is, they are likely to develop some way for you to just pay a small amount each month. In many cases, they are sympathetic to your financial situations because their goal is to ultimately get the money. If this means accepting just a portion of the total owed each month, they are more than happy to do so. You will likely have to fill out paperwork explaining your financial situation so they can determine what your payments should be.

An OIC is a chance to pay back less than the total amount owed. There are frequently commercials on television explaining how this is done. Whenever someone says they paid "pennies on the dollar" for what was owed in back tax money, this is how they did it. If the government believes they are never going to see the total amount or that you are paying the total amount would create financial hardship, they will accept less. This also occurs when there is dispute over the amount owed. This can take a great deal of time to negotiate and there are few who have accepted offers.

A final option is to petition the government to consider the amount if the amount is not collectible. If it is impossible for you to pay the money, they will essentially give up. They might also file liens against you, which will hurt you in the long run and it is likely they will never officially go away. They will check in on you every so often to see if you are making enough to pay what was owed.


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Stewart Wrighter recently searched the term Offer in compromise to find an advocate to help with an IRS tax lien. He searched the term IRS wage garnishments to find help to pay back taxes.