IRS wage garnishment and IRS bank levies are the severe consequences of one's failure to pay delinquent tax debts. The Internal Revenue Service will always make several attempts to contact a delinquent taxpayer in order to collect the debt before they take money straight from a paycheck or bank account. They will have no problem following through, however, when an individual neglects or refuses to arrange some sort of IRS payment plan.

If the Internal Revenue Service levies an individual's wages, salary or federal payments, the IRS wage garnishment will not end until the levy is released, the individual pays their tax debt, or the time expires for legally collecting the tax. In the case of IRS bank levies, the bank must hold funds up to the amount they owe that the individual has on deposit for 21 days. At this point, the bank is required to send the allotted amount of money plus any applicable interest to the Internal Revenue Service.

IRS wage garnishment and IRS bank levies are serious business, and the government will not be concerned about leaving enough money in a bank account or paycheck for the individual to live off of. They are trying to get the delinquent taxpayer's attention and force them to set up some sort of IRS payment plan or other arrangement. The government must issue a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing, however, before they enforce any IRS bank levies.

If a delinquent taxpayer does not set up an IRS payment plan or make some other sort of arrangement such as a Request for Collection Due Process Hearing within 30 days of the date of the letter, the Internal Revenue Service can begin levy action after the 30th day. This is an important letter, and it's really always preferable to take action before receiving it. There are IRS tax relief professionals who specialize in such issues, however, and they can help arrange an appropriate plan.