Have you had your wages garnished by the IRS? If so, you may have several questions about IRS wage garnishment such as how long the process will last and what you can do to resolve it. The prospect of the IRS garnishing your wages can be extremely unsettling, but if you're facing this situation, you can ease some of your concerns by learning what's involved.

1. What is IRS wage garnishment?

Put simply, IRS wage garnishment occurs when the IRS lays a claim to your income and makes regular withdrawals to satisfy your tax debt. To begin the process of garnishing your wages, the IRS will first impose a tax levy on your income. Once the levy is imposed, the IRS will assume the legal right to collect a percentage of your income immediately after it is released. This means that you will not be able to access your funds until after the IRS has withdrawn its portion of the income.

2. In what situations will the IRS consider enforcing wage garnishment?

The IRS only reserves wage garnishment for cases of seriously delinquent tax debt. This means that a taxpayer must be several months or even years behind on his or her tax bill and must not have made any attempts to settle their accounts. Before enforcing a wage garnishment, the agency will issue letters informing a taxpayer that his or her account is past due and must be settled. However, the letters will only go to the taxpayer's address of record, so if the individual moves and does not leave a forwarding address, he or she may not receive the notices. In any case, the agency has the right to enforce the wage garnishment process after a certain number of notices have been issued.

3. Can a taxpayer file an IRS wage garnishment appeal?

There is an appeals process for taxpayers who are affected by IRS wage garnishment. Qualifying for an appeal, though, can be difficult, since only certain situations may be considered for the appeals process. These situations include a taxpayer who did not have enough time to pay off the debt or if the IRS has made a calculation error in figuring the amount of tax due. If the taxpayer is willing to begin repaying the debt, he or she may also qualify to file an IRS wage garnishment appeal.

Any taxpayer who is facing a tax levy may have a few questions about IRS wage garnishment. After learning more about what's involved in the wage garnishment procedure, individuals can prepare themselves for what they may face in the future.