Sarasota Bank Levy Lawyer

Sarasota Bank Levy Attorney

When you are subjected to a bank levy, it can mean weeks of a frozen bank account before losing a significant portion of your money to cover the debts you owe. However, there are other options. If you receive notice of a bank levy, it’s important to act quickly. A Sarasota bank levy lawyer is a useful ally when determining how to negotiate your debt and mitigate the consequences of a bank levy.

TaxSmith, LLC: Your IRS Bank Levy Attorneys in Sarasota

Bank levies can be placed by consumer creditors or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). IRS levies are a very serious enforcement method used by the agency to collect taxes. While it can be stressful to deal with these collection actions, TaxSmith, LLC, can represent you. Our firm has decades of tax law experience, having supported the interests of individual and business taxpayers through many difficult situations.

Our goal at TaxSmith, LLC, is to provide you with straightforward legal counsel so you can make informed choices. We can determine if you qualify for alternate methods of repaying your tax debt. We can also negotiate with the IRS for the most beneficial method for you.

What Is a Bank Levy From the IRS?

The IRS can use a bank levy to recover unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest. After freezing the bank account, the IRS will remove the funds needed to cover your tax liability. Other creditors can also implement a bank levy, but they require approval from the court. The IRS doesn’t have to meet this requirement.

In fiscal year 2023, the IRS sent 286,270 requests to third parties to levy property. While this is significant, the IRS does not start with a bank levy when you have unpaid taxes. First, the agency will send bills to try to collect on the tax you owe. A bank levy is typically used when the debt you owe is significant and you have ignored attempts to contact you.

If you receive notice of the IRS’s attempt to levy your bank account, it’s important to act quickly. You might negotiate other methods to repay your tax debt.

The IRS wants to negotiate with taxpayers who cannot afford their tax debt. That way, the IRS receives partial payment for what it is owed, rather than nothing. Nearly 60.3 million taxpayers were assisted by the IRS in FY 2023. The closest Taxpayer Assistance Center is located at 5971 Cattle Ridge Boulevard in Sarasota. An experienced debt settlement attorney in Sarasota can represent you in negotiations with the IRS and create a strong case for you.

How Can You Prevent an IRS Bank Levy?

The fastest way to prevent an IRS bank levy or have it removed is to pay your debt. If that isn’t possible, there may be other methods to resolve or minimize the debt you owe. These include:

• Penalty abatement: This allows you to remove specific penalties from your tax debt, along with the interest those penalties accrued. Penalties may be abated if there was a reasonable cause, such as a natural disaster, that made you file your taxes late. You could also abate penalties under first-time abatement.
• Installment agreement: This enables you to make a payment plan with the IRS to repay your entire debt over a longer period of time.
• Offer in compromise: This allows you to resolve your entire tax debt for a lesser sum. You have to meet the strict qualifications to apply for an offer in compromise, and not all offers are accepted. In FY 2023, the IRS received 30,163 offers in compromise from taxpayers. The agency accepted 42.14% of these offers, compared to 36.55% of offers in FY 2022.

A skilled bank levy attorney can review these and other methods for resolving your tax debt and avoiding a bank levy. Other options may include specific types of bankruptcy.

FAQs About Sarasota, FL Bank Levy Law

Can a Levy Fee Be Refunded?

If you were charged a fee by your bank for processing a levy, it is only refundable if the levy was wrongfully placed by the IRS. You can recover this fee if the following is true:

• The IRS caused the mistake.
• You did not contribute to or worsen the mistake.
• Prior to the levy, you answered contact attempts by the IRS and provided the information requested of you.

An experienced IRS bank levy attorney can help you navigate this situation.

How Do You Settle a Levy?

The fastest way to settle a levy is by paying the debt you owe. That way, the creditor will release the levy. Otherwise, you might settle a levy through negotiation with the creditor. If the levy was placed by the IRS, you could negotiate the debt if paying the full amount would cause you financial hardship. You might negotiate a payment plan or reduce the amount you owe through penalty abatement.

Can the IRS See My Bank Account?

The IRS cannot see your bank account. However, the IRS is likely aware of the accounts you own and may be aware of the funds in them. The IRS has significant financial information on taxpayers, based on information you provide to the agency and other governmental agencies, along with the information connected to your Social Security number. The IRS also receives reports about certain types of interests or investments from financial institutions.

Can You Lose Your House If You Owe Taxes?

Yes, you could lose your house if you owe taxes, but this is generally a last resort used by the IRS if your debt is significant and you have avoided paying your taxes for a long time. The IRS can levy property like it levies bank accounts. Typically, the IRS will first place a lien on your property. If you take no action to pay or negotiate your tax debt, the IRS may decide to levy, or seize, your property.

Addressing a Bank Levy and Protecting Your Financial Interests

IRS collection actions can cause severe financial hardship and make your life very stressful. If you have tax debt and don’t know how to address it, our firm can help. If you have received notice of a bank levy or other collection action, our team can address it. At TaxSmith, LLC, our goal is to secure a beneficial resolution. Contact our firm today.