An IRS levy is a legal seizure of your property to satisfy a tax debt. It can garnish wages, take money in your bank or other financial account, seize and sell your vehicle(s), real estate and other personal property.
The IRS has two primary levy programs. The automated levy program levies attach to payments from state taxing authorities, municipal taxing authorities and federal agencies. Automated Collection System (ACS) levies typically attach to other sources not included in the automated levy programs, such as bank accounts and wages from private sector employers. If you’ve received a levy notice, you can find it in one of the two sections below.
On this page
- Automated levy programs
- Automated Collection System (ACS) levies
- What to do if you receive a Notice of Intent to Levy
- Payments
- Know your rights as a taxpayer
- Related
Automated levy programs
Taxpayers who owe taxes and have missed their payment deadline may be levied by the IRS. The automated levy programs efficiently collect those delinquent federal taxes and bring those taxpayers into compliance by garnishing payments from various sources. If taxpayers have certain types of federal tax debt, the IRS may claim payments due to those taxpayers from state taxing authorities, municipal taxing authorities and federal agencies disbursing funds, such as salary, pension, and vendor payments.
Specific automated levy programs are explained below.
Federal Payment Levy Program
The Federal Payment Levy Program is an automated tax collection process in which the IRS uses the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Services' (BFS) Treasury Offset Program to levy federal payments from taxpayers who are delinquent in paying their federal taxes.
- Pre-levy notices
- Post-levy notices
- Pre-Social Security Administration levy notices
State Income Tax Levy Program
The State Income Tax Levy Program levies state income tax refunds of taxpayers that owe a balance on their federal taxes.
- Who is impacted? Taxpayers with federal tax debt(s) who receive a state income tax refund from a participating state taxing agency.
- Notices
- Post-levy notice CP92
Municipal Tax Levy Program
The Municipal Tax Levy Program levies city and municipal tax refunds of taxpayers that owe a balance on their federal taxes.
- Who is impacted? Taxpayers with federal tax debt(s) who receive a municipal income tax refund from a participating municipal taxing agency.
- Notices
- The Municipal Tax Levy Program will only levy if the taxpayer has already received a prior notice.
Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Program
The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Program levies the Permanent Fund Dividend payments of Alaska residents that owe a federal tax liability.
- Who is Impacted? Taxpayers with federal tax debt(s) that are Alaskan residents eligible for the Permanent Fund Dividend payment.
- Notices
Automated Collection System (ACS) levies
Notices of levy from ACS are system generated, and garnish financial accounts, wages, and other money held by third parties and owed to the taxpayer. ACS employees do not take action to seize real property (e.g., vehicles, real estate, etc.).
- Who is impacted? For any taxpayer who fails to pay their taxes in full or set up an arrangement to settle their debt, the IRS may determine that a levy is the next appropriate action to collect the outstanding debt.
- Notices
- Pre-levy notice
- ACS Notice LT11 Final intent to levy
- ACS Notice LT40 Third-party contact notification
- Pre-levy notice
Calling restart: The ACS runs phone campaigns to contact taxpayers with the goal of resolving tax delinquencies. Taxpayers may receive a call from a live agent or receive a call playing an automated message. The automated message encourages taxpayers to find answers and resolve issues online at IRS.gov without having to wait on hold for an employee. However, if they are unable to resolve their issue online, they can call and speak with a live agent.
How will ACS contact you?
If someone claims to be us, compare their actions to how we generally contact taxpayers.
- Mail: Generally, we first contact you by mail using the U.S. Postal Service. You can verify most IRS mail by its letter or number.
- Phone: We may call to discuss your case, verify information or set up an appointment.
Taxpayers, however, can contact ACS via mail, phone, fax or text chat.
What to do if you receive a Notice of Intent to Levy
- Read your notice carefully. It explains our actions.
- Pay what you owe.
- Request a payment plan if you can’t pay the full amount you owe.
Payments
If you have an outstanding federal tax debt, the IRS will request payment by cash, check, certified funds or money order payable to “United States Treasury.” The IRS provides specific guidelines on how you can make a tax payment at IRS.gov/payments.
If you have any concerns about making a payment by check, payments can be made online using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) for both personal and business taxes.
Disaster situations
If your address of record is in a federally declared disaster area, you should have received a CP14C notice. This means you have additional time to file your tax return and to make your payment listed on the CP14 Notice. You do not need to contact us to get this extra time to pay; it is automatic. For more information visit IRS.gov/disastertaxrelief to locate your specific state and county by disaster area.
If you can’t pay or pay the full amount you owe, you can apply online for a payment plan (including installment agreements). In cases of financial hardship, the IRS may temporarily delay collection until your situation improves. For more information, see Temporarily delay the collection process.
Release of levy
Once the taxpayer’s balance is fully paid or an arrangement has been approved, a release of levy may be considered.
Know your rights as a taxpayer
You have the right to challenge the IRS’s position and be heard. Taxpayers have the right to raise objections and provide additional documentation in response to formal IRS actions or proposed actions, to expect that the IRS will consider their timely objections and documentation promptly and fairly, and to receive a response if the IRS does not agree with their position. Additional information about your rights is available in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights PDF.