IRS Collection Defense

An IRS bank levy, a wage garnishment, a tax lien — these are enforcement, not warnings. We step in as your authorized representative, pursue the relief that halts the action, and negotiate the liability behind it.

When the IRS stops sending letters and starts taking property, your case has moved into collections. At that point the question is no longer whether you owe. It is how much of your paycheck, your bank balance or your assets the IRS can reach — and how fast that can be stopped.

IRS Trouble Solvers™ has defended taxpayers against federal and state collection action since 1991. Our Enrolled Agents, tax attorneys and CPAs file the Power of Attorney that puts us between you and the revenue officer, pursue the relief that halts enforcement, and then work the underlying liability toward a resolution you can actually live with.

Collection Actions We Defend Against

Wage Garnishment (Wage Levy)

A wage levy is continuous. Unlike a bank levy, which reaches whatever is in the account on a single day, a levy served on your employer stays in force every pay period until the IRS releases it or the debt is satisfied. The IRS leaves you only a small exempt amount based on your filing status and dependents, and your employer has no discretion to refuse.

Release generally comes from demonstrating economic hardship, entering an installment agreement, or securing Currently Not Collectible status. Each route depends on submitting a complete, accurate and well-supported financial picture — correctly, the first time.

Bank Levy

When the IRS levies a bank account, the bank freezes the funds on deposit that day and holds them for 21 days before remitting them to the IRS. That 21-day window is the entire opportunity to obtain a release. It is not a grace period. It is a deadline, and it makes a bank levy the most time-critical situation in collections.

Federal Tax Lien

A Notice of Federal Tax Lien is a public filing that attaches to everything you own and everything you acquire while it is in force. It does not seize property directly, but it places the government ahead of most other creditors and interferes with your ability to borrow, sell or refinance. Tax liens no longer appear on consumer credit reports, but they remain public records that lenders, underwriters and title companies find.

Related reading: When a federal tax lien expires

Lien Release, Discharge, Withdrawal and Subordination

A lien problem rarely has just one solution. A discharge removes the lien from one specific piece of property so a sale can close. A subordination lets another creditor move ahead of the IRS so a refinance can fund. A withdrawal removes the public notice altogether. Picking the right instrument, and documenting why the government is no worse off for granting it, is what separates an approved application from a denied one.

IRS Seizures

Seizure is the IRS taking and selling physical property — vehicles, equipment, business assets, accounts receivable, and in rare cases a residence. It sits at the end of a long procedural road, and nearly every step on that road is an opening to intervene. A principal residence cannot be seized without the approval of a federal district court judge.

Related reading: Which property the IRS can and cannot seize

IRS Summons

A summons compels testimony or records — from you, or from your bank, employer or accountant. Ignoring one leads to enforcement proceedings in federal district court. Responding without representation can hand the IRS admissions that shape everything that follows. A summons is often the moment a collection matter is quietly turning into an examination.

Related reading: Five signs the IRS is investigating you

Why Timing Decides the Outcome

Collection defense runs on short, unforgiving deadlines:

21 days — how long your bank holds levied funds before sending them to the IRS.
30 days — to request a Collection Due Process hearing after a Final Notice of Intent to Levy (LT11 or Letter 1058).
30 days — to request a CDP hearing after a Notice of Federal Tax Lien is filed, running from the fifth business day after filing.
One year — to request an equivalent hearing if the CDP window has closed, though it carries no right to Tax Court review.

A timely CDP request generally suspends levy action while the appeal is pending and preserves your right to Tax Court review. Missing it does not end your case, but it gives up your strongest procedural leverage — which is why the date on the notice in your hand matters more than almost anything else right now.

How We Handle a Collection Case

Get between you and the IRS. We file Form 2848 and become the point of contact. Revenue officer calls, notices and deadlines come to us.
Pull the complete file. Account transcripts, assessment dates, collection statute expiration dates and notice history tell us what the IRS can legally do and how long it has to do it.
Stop the enforcement. Levy release, lien remedy, hardship status or a timely appeal — whichever the facts and the calendar support.
Resolve what is underneath. Installment agreement, Offer in Compromise, Currently Not Collectible status or penalty abatement, based on what you can actually document.
Keep it from happening again. Most resolutions require staying filed and current. We make sure you know exactly what that means for you.

Why Taxpayers Bring Us Their Collection Cases

Resolving IRS and state tax matters since 1991.
Enrolled Agents, tax attorneys and CPAs — credentials that carry unlimited rights of representation before the IRS.
Based in Elmhurst, Illinois, representing clients nationwide.
Federal and state collection matters, including business and payroll cases.
A risk-free, no-obligation case evaluation before you commit to anything.

Common Questions

Can the IRS levy without warning me first?

In most cases the IRS must issue a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and give you 30 days to respond before it can levy. There are narrow exceptions, including jeopardy levies and levies on state tax refunds. If you have received a Final Notice, the clock is running from the date on the letter, not the date you opened it.

How quickly can a wage garnishment be released?

It depends on the grounds for release and how quickly complete financial documentation can be assembled. Release is not automatic and it is not guaranteed — it has to be justified. The fastest cases are the ones where the taxpayer can produce income, expense and asset records immediately.

Do I have to file all my back returns before anything can be resolved?

Generally yes. The IRS will not approve most collection alternatives while returns are outstanding, and unfiled years often carry substitute returns the IRS prepared for you without any deductions. Getting compliant is usually the first substantive step in a collection case.

What if I genuinely cannot pay anything right now?

Currently Not Collectible status exists for exactly that situation. It pauses active collection while your finances support it. Interest and penalties continue to accrue and the IRS reviews the status periodically, but it can stop a levy and buy room to plan.

Should I just call the IRS myself?

You can. But collection employees are trained to gather financial information that determines how aggressively they can pursue you, and statements made early are difficult to walk back. Most people benefit from knowing what their transcripts say before the IRS hears from them.

Related reading: How to handle a conversation with the IRS

STOP THE IRS IN ITS TRACKS

If a notice has a deadline on it, that deadline is the case. Let us look at it before it passes.