Wage Garnishment

A wage garnishment is the legal means of collecting a monetary judgment that has been ordered against a defendant. But in the case of collecting taxes there is no need for a judgment or other court order.

The most common wage garnishment is through employee payroll deductions. Some of which would include child support, defaulted student loans, and taxes, just to name a few.

When a wage garnishment is served upon an employer for the wages of the employee, it cannot be refused. If there is more than one wage garnishment and there is not enough in the employees net pay to satisfy all wage garnishments. It would be deducted in the order of, federal tax, local tax, and credit card until all is paid in full.

An employer may not fire an employee to avoid dealing with the garnishment, it's a criminal offense. Federal law provides for a fine and imprisonment to an employer who willfully fires an employee in regards to a garnishment.

A wage garnishment may also affect your credit rating and make it very hard to get a loan or bank account in the future. You may be able to avoid the wage garnishment by negotiating with the creditors.

Attachments are another type of garnishment that is reserved and used against bank, or other companies.

There are only a few requirement that the IRS must meet before they star a garnishment:

The tax must have been assessed and written notice sent for demand of payment. Taxpayer has refused to, or neglected to pay the tax within the time frame of the notice. The IRS has sent out 30 days before the levy, a final notice of intent to levy and a notice of your right to a hearing.

The final notice will be delivered to you in one of many ways. It can be sent by certified or registered mail, in person, or they may leave the notice at the taxpayer's home or place of employment.

Many times the taxpayer will not receive the notice for whatever reason and isn't aware of the levy until their wages are garnished.