Owing back taxes can be a very frustrating situation when you do not have the money all at once to pay off the debt. If you are behind on your state and/or federal taxes, it is not uncommon to have a tax wage garnishment implemented through your employer to collect the money owned. Wage garnishment can be filed by the tax office and an employer will be obligated to collect a percentage from each paycheck until the debt is satisfied.
A garnishment means that the tax office can legally take the majority of your paycheck before you get any of the money. For those living paycheck to paycheck, a garnishment is a serious matter. The percentage taken in a garnishment from the IRS is generally a large one and will be based on your marital filing status as well as the number of dependents you claim. The amount of your pay that is exempt from the garnishment is figured out by adding the standard deduction claimed on your taxes and the amount you claim as exemptions. That number is then divided by 52. A typical example would be the calculation of a family of three. After their calculations were done, they would only be able to keep around $325 per week per pay. State tax garnishments have individual standards for the amount of percentage they can take towards the debt.
Since the loss of pay will be a bigger burden on an already stressed financial situation, it is important that anyone owning federal or state tax money do whatever they can to take care of the debt before a garnishment is ordered. Installments plans or even legal assistance from a tax attorney can help avoid a garnishment situation before it occurs. Once a garnishment is started, it will stay in effect until fully paid. Otherwise, additional costs of legal assistance will only add additional financial burdens.
Tax attorneys can help to deal with the IRS or the state in order to negotiate a release of the garnishment. Alternative payment amounts may also be negotiated to make the garnishment less severe but again the attorney costs add to the debt already outstanding. However, if you contact the IRS or state tax office as soon as you know you’ll have difficulty making payments, you can avoid the garnishment and the difficulties that come with losing most of your paycheck each week until the debt has been satisfied.
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