Pensacola Wage Garnishment Lawyer

Pensacola Wage Garnishment Attorney

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can take certain actions to collect debt owed by taxpayers. One of these methods is wage garnishment, wherein the agency takes a portion of your paycheck. It can do this until your debt is paid in full, and it may also take other collection actions. These can cause serious financial difficulties. If you are dealing with wage garnishment, a Pensacola wage garnishment lawyer can address the garnishment and your tax debt.

Hire a Wage Garnishment Lawyer in Pensacola

At TaxSmith, LLC, our team has years of tax law experience and knows how to deal with the IRS on behalf of taxpayers. We focus on transparent and clear legal advice for both individual and business taxpayers. Our firm understands the stress of owing the IRS or the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) a tax debt you can’t repay. It only gets more stressful as demands for payment increase and collection actions begin.

Our firm knows the federal and state wage garnishment laws. We can negotiate to stop IRS garnishment and address the debt itself. There are several ways to resolve your debt and find good standing with the IRS. Our team can assess your options and help you make informed choices about your wage garnishment case.

What Is IRS Wage Garnishment?

Wage garnishment occurs when you owe a debt, and your creditor takes money directly out of your paycheck to recover that debt. Most creditors need court approval for this process, but the IRS does not. If you owe IRS tax debt and ignore it, the IRS may decide to garnish your wages.

The IRS takes collecting taxes very seriously. The agency uses tools like audits, automated systems, and collection actions to recover taxes owed. Examinations, or audits, conducted by the IRS in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 resulted in $36.8 billion in additional tax assessments.

Wage garnishment is a very useful tool to help the IRS recover unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest from taxpayers. In FY 2024, the IRS sent 313,792 notices of its intent to levy to third parties. In a bank levy, the agency notifies a financial institution; in a wage levy or garnishment, the IRS notifies the employer. The IRS will notify you before taking these actions, including by sending you a tax bill. It’s important to act soon when you get this notice.

What Income Can the IRS Garnish?

The median household income in Pensacola was $74,212 annually, and non-family households had a median income of $51,811. Losing a portion of your wages because of garnishment has the potential to cause you financial strain and hardship, especially when you are supporting your household. Garnishment can impact many types of income, including:

• Salary
• Hourly wages
• Bonuses
• Pension payments
• Commissions
• Accounts receivable
• Governmental benefits

If you owe the IRS a substantial debt, the agency may not stop at garnishing your wages. It may also take other collection actions, like placing liens on property or even levying your bank accounts. This can worsen a financially difficult situation. While it is possible to stop the IRS from garnishing your wages by showing financial hardship, you still need to address the debt you owe.

How Can You Resolve Wage Garnishment?

The fastest way to resolve wage garnishment is to pay the debt you owe. Taxpayers usually have their wages garnished because they cannot pay the debt back, however. When you don’t have the financial ability to pay your taxes, the IRS may be willing to negotiate other ways to resolve your debt and pause garnishment. These can include:

• Negotiating the garnishment to a lesser amount
• Negotiating the debt you owe through an installment agreement, penalty abatement, Currently Not Collectible status, or an offer in compromise
• Filing for bankruptcy to prevent certain types of garnishment, giving you more financial ability to pay your debt

A Pensacola IRS tax attorney can negotiate with the IRS directly, such as at the Pensacola IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center Office, located off I-10. In Florida, an attorney can also assess a head of household exemption for state taxes owed to the Florida DOR.

FAQs About Pensacola, FL Wage Garnishment Law

How Can You Fight a Wage Garnishment in Florida?

The ideal way to fight a wage garnishment in Florida is to pay all the debt you owe in full. After the creditor, like the IRS, processes the payment, the garnishment will stop. There are other options to fight wage garnishment, such as proving that the garnishment is causing financial hardship. You can also negotiate with the creditor to lower the amount being garnished or secure other debt settlement options.

Can a Tax Lawyer Stop a Garnishment?

A tax lawyer could stop a garnishment put in place by the IRS or a state tax agency, but it depends on the licensure of the attorney and the specifics of your case. A properly licensed tax attorney can negotiate with the tax agency to find other ways to resolve your debt, such as a payment plan, penalty abatement, or an offer in compromise. These options can pause garnishment and other collection actions.

What Is the Maximum Garnishment Allowed in Florida?

Federal law requires that most creditors only take whichever amount is less of:

• 25% of your paycheck
• The amount of your paycheck that is 30 times over the federal minimum wage

If multiple creditors are garnishing your wages, they can all only garnish up to that much. However, not all creditors are subject to these limitations. Tax debt, child support, and other types of debt have different limits.

Can I Negotiate a Payment Plan to Stop Garnishment?

Yes, you could negotiate a payment plan to stop garnishment, although it depends on the creditor. If the garnishment was placed by the IRS, you can negotiate with the agency to address the initial tax debt in several ways. One of those options is an installment agreement, which is the IRS’s payment plan. You can also consider other options, like penalty abatement or an offer in compromise. The IRS is willing to negotiate if the garnishment causes financial hardship.

Contact Pensacola Wage Garnishment Attorney

When you need to hire a wage garnishment lawyer, reach out to the team at TaxSmith, LLC.

Pensacola, FL IRS Tax Law Additional Resources

• IRS Installment Agreement Guide for Florida Residents
• Currently Not Collectible Status in Florida: What You Need to Know
• How to Stop IRS Wage Garnishment in Florida
• Florida Wage Garnishment Laws: IRS Guide
• How to Stop Wage Garnishment Immediately in Florida
• Florida Wage Garnishment Court Order Process
• How Much Wage Garnishment From Paycheck in Florida?