Naples Wage Garnishment Lawyer

Naples Wage Garnishment Attorney

Having your wages garnished can be a distressing situation that can cause you severe financial hardship. You may even be unable to meet your basic daily needs and provide for your family. If your wages are being garnished by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or you have unaddressed tax debt, you need a Naples wage garnishment lawyer to find the right resolution. The IRS and state tax agencies are willing to negotiate when you cannot financially pay your debt.

There may be multiple potential solutions to resolve your tax debt and address your debt. The right attorney can review what you qualify for and which ones are most beneficial for you. If you ignore the garnishment, the IRS may take additional steps, such as placing levies or liens on your assets. Act quickly to prevent your financial situation from worsening. Act swiftly to prevent your financial situation from worsening, and consider enlisting a Naples tax debt settlement lawyer to guide you through the process and negotiate for the best possible outcome.

Protecting Your Financial Future With TaxSmith, LLC

At TaxSmith, LLC, we know how emergency situations and unexpected financial needs can get in the way of paying your taxes. These issues can spiral if they are ignored until the debt is significantly greater than the initial unpaid amount. It can feel overwhelming and impossible to deal with. Our firm wants to help you. The earlier you discuss your tax debt situation with us, the better we can help prevent IRS collection actions and other negative consequences.

Our firm has decades of tax law experience. Let us leverage our experience for your benefit. There is an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center located in Fort Myers at 4210 Metro Parkway. Our experienced attorneys can help you prepare for a meeting or represent you to the IRS in negotiations.

The Basics of Wage Garnishment

Failure to pay was the most common cause of assessed penalties in 2024, leading to 22 million assessed penalties. If tax debt remains unpaid, these penalties can continue to accrue, as well as interest on the principal amount and the penalties. The IRS will send you a notice of unpaid taxes. If this notice goes ignored, the agency may take other actions to collect those taxes.

The IRS sent 313,792 requests to third parties for levies of assets. This included bank levies, levies of other property, and wage levies or wage garnishment. Wage garnishment occurs when the IRS or a state agency takes a portion of your wages directly from your paycheck each month to cover your unpaid tax debt.

The agency sends notice to your employer to complete the garnishment, and your employer must comply. The IRS does not have to get court approval to garnish your wages, unlike other commercial creditors. Garnishment can affect many types of income and can even impact your accounts receivable if you are self-employed.

Options for Resolving Wage Garnishment

If you cannot financially afford the full tax liability in Naples, there may be other options to address it, such as:

• You could negotiate with the IRS to lower how much of your wages are garnished, avoiding financial hardship and preventing other collection actions.
• You could resolve the debt for less or give yourself more time to pay it by engaging in other methods of payment, including a payment plan, penalty abatement, or an offer in compromise. In 2024, the IRS accepted over 7,000 offers in compromise.
• Certain exemptions can prevent most or all of your wages from being garnished, such as the head of household exemption.
• Filing for bankruptcy could prevent wage garnishment.

Always discuss these options with a tax attorney first to make an informed choice.

How Does a Wage Garnishment Attorney Help Me?

Working with a wage garnishment tax attorney means you are more likely to secure the most financially beneficial outcome to your tax debt and prevent you from taking steps that cost you more in the long term. By having an experienced attorney by your side, you can have a clear understanding of the numerous options for resolving your tax debt and addressing wage garnishment.

An attorney’s advice is tailored to your unique financial and personal situation and also limits the stress of dealing with the issue alone. You can also better understand the complex concepts of tax codes when an attorney helps walk you through them.

FAQs About Naples, FL Wage Garnishment Law

How Do You Escape Wage Garnishment?

The most immediate way to escape wage garnishment is to pay back the debt for which the garnishment is for. You could also negotiate for a lesser amount for garnishment, which can provide you with essential financial resources.

Depending on the creditor, you could also negotiate other methods of payment. It is possible to negotiate alternate payment plans with the IRS if you do not have the financial ability to pay the debt. This could include an installment agreement.

What Income Cannot Be Garnished in Florida?

You could prevent a portion or all of your income from being garnished in Florida if you qualify for the head of household exemption. This means you are financially providing over half the support for a minor or dependent living in your home. Your income then can’t be garnished if your disposable earnings are less than $750 a week. If they are greater, you must agree to any garnishment of your wages. You must actively file for the exemption.

How Do I Reverse a Wage Garnishment?

If wage garnishment is already in effect, you need to negotiate with the creditor who placed it to reverse it or pay the debt in full. Talking with a relevant attorney can help you determine your options. Often, there will not be a way to recover the money already garnished, as it will go to cover your unpaid debt. You could negotiate a lower garnishment or payment plan, or navigate other repayment options.

What Is the Most They Can Garnish From Your Paycheck?

In the U.S., the most that most creditors can garnish from your paycheck is whichever of the following amounts is lower:

1. 25% of your disposable income
2. The amount that your disposable income is greater than 30 times the minimum wage

However, state and federal tax agencies do not have this same limitation and could likely garnish more of your wages. An attorney can review your financial situation and determine what limits may apply to your wage garnishment.

Protecting Your Financial Future and Taking the Ideal Next Steps

Navigating wage garnishment and tax debt alone can lead to you paying more than you need to. Working with TaxSmith, LLC can make it easier and less costly. Contact our firm today.