Owing back taxes to the IRS often ends up in wage garnishment. The IRS will send a notice to your employer letting them know that you owe back taxes, and that your employer must now withhold a certain amount from your paycheck and remit it to the IRS.

How much can the IRS take?
If you’re filing as single and have one exemption, the IRS can take all but $365.38 of your biweekly paycheck. If you’re married, filing jointly, and have a child, bringing your exemptions to three, the IRS can take all but $873.08 from your biweekly paycheck. With a wage garnishment leaving you with barely enough to cover your mortgage payments, it’s clearly important for you to stop wage garnishments before they start.

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How can you stop wage garnishments?
An experienced tax firm like Smart Business Tax Solutions can negotiate with the IRS, establishing an installment plan instead of wage garnishment. Under an installment plan, you’ll be expected to make monthly payments of a set amount, usually much less than wage garnishment amounts. It is even possible to settle your tax debt for less than you owe under an installment plan, meaning you’ll be done paying off your debt sooner.

If you’ve fallen on hard economic times and cannot possibly make payments to the IRS at this time, you may be eligible to be placed on the IRS’s Currently Not Collectible list. This means a temporary end to IRS collection efforts, including mailings and phone calls. Periodically, you will be expected to pre-qualify for Currently Not Collectible status.