Can Philadelphians Avoid IRS Garnishment?
If you owe taxes that you can’t afford to pay, and you get a letter from the IRS threatening IRS garnishment of your wages, bank, or investment accounts, what do you do? Can you avoid having the IRS take money out of your other funds (presuming, that is, that you have any)?
The first and most important response in order to avoid indiscriminate IRS garnishment is NOT to stick your head in the sand or hide under your bed. Take a deep breath. Then commit to calling the IRS within 24 to 48 hours of receiving the letter. Sit down with a pad and paper and write out your questions. Once you call them about the threat of IRS garnishment, you will be surprised at how compassionate and helpful the agents can be. [If you don't get this kind of response, politely excuse yourself from the phone call and call back until you get a kinder agent most of them truly are helpful these days.]
Before you call, go to the IRS Web site and do a search on IRS garnishment and see what your options are if you can’t afford to pay your taxes. There is a wealth of information that may immediately help you feel more hopeful about your situation.
Recognize that you don’t have to have all the answers or make a decision right away. On your first phone call to the IRS, your objective should be to simply respond to their letter and to obtain more information about the IRS garnishment process and what your options are.
There are several financially modest ways to consult with a Philadelphia attorney to ask how you can avoid IRS garnishment. Contact your local legal aid office. Call the Philadelphia Bar Association’s referral service. They can give you the name of a participating tax attorney that will give you the first half hour of consultation for $25 to $50.
Whatever the outcome happens to be, whether you avoid IRS garnishment or not, you must remain in control of this most challenging situation to have any chance at a happy ending.
