IRS letter help
When the IRS is about to take your money
You have a final notice, and the IRS says it plans to take money to pay your tax debt.
The IRS can take money from your bank or paycheck 30 days after your final levy notice unless you ask for a hearing.
A licensed tax professional can ask for a hearing or a release before then, so call now.
Which numbers matter?
30 days
You have 30 days from your final notice to ask for a hearing that holds off the levy.
Mail Form 12153 to the address on your notice by the hearing deadline printed on it.
21 days
Frozen bank money stays at your bank for 21 days before it goes to the IRS.
Call the number on your levy notice during those 21 days.
15%
15% of each Social Security payment can go to your tax debt until it is paid or you set up a plan.
Call 800-829-7650 to pay, set up a plan or propose an offer.
Stop a levy before money leaves
You have 30 days from the final notice to ask for a hearing, and once a bank gets a levy it holds your money 21 days before the IRS gets it.
A licensed tax professional can request your hearing, show hardship or set up a plan that ends the levy.
Call before day 30 on your final notice, or before day 21 of a bank hold, so a licensed tax professional can file first.
Call 855-964-5291What happens when you call
- You call during business hours and say which letter or bill you have.
- A licensed tax professional asks for the date, the amount and the tax years on the letter.
- You hear your options for this notice and decide what to do. Nothing is filed without your yes.
A licensed tax professional answers, not the IRS. The call costs nothing, and you give up nothing by calling. IRS Code Lookup is a private tax help service.
Would you rather send your notice details?
Your levy notice shows which letter you got, such as an LT11, 1058 or CP90, and when your 30 days started.
With those details, a licensed tax professional can see which hearing or release request fits your levy.
What changed recently?
Since June 12, 2025, the Tax Court cannot review a Collection Due Process case once the IRS stops pursuing the levy. The Supreme Court ruled this in Commissioner v. Zuch, and it covers balances that are paid or covered by credits. So paying the balance in full also ends any Tax Court review of your hearing.
Source: Commissioner v. Zuch, U.S. Supreme Court (June 12, 2025).
Which letters come before a levy?
A levy follows a run of bills, then one of three final notices.
| Letter | What it says | Your window |
|---|---|---|
| LT11 or Letter 1058 | The IRS intends to seize property or rights to property | 30 days to ask for a hearing; the last day is printed on the letter |
| CP90 | Final notice before a levy on certain assets, such as federal payments | 30 days from the date of the final notice |
| CP504 | Intent to levy your state tax refund, with other assets named next | No hearing right on this notice; an LT11 or Letter 1058 that follows gives you 30 days |
If your LT11 is dated March 3, 2026, day 30 is April 2, 2026, so Form 12153 has to go out by then. The IRS appeals FAQ gives 30 days to ask for the hearing after an LT11 or Letter 1058.
How do I ask for a hearing?
The hearing is called a Collection Due Process hearing. You ask for it on Form 12153 and send it to the address on your levy notice.
At the hearing, an IRS appeals officer who was not part of your case looks at the levy. You can propose a payment plan or say the balance is wrong. Ask within 30 days and the IRS holds off on that levy until the hearing ends. That rule is in Publication 594, the IRS collection booklet.
Miss the 30 days and you can still ask for an "equivalent hearing" on the same form. You lose the right to take the result to Tax Court.
Did the IRS freeze my bank or my paycheck?
A bank levy freezes what is in the account on the day the bank gets it. The bank holds the money, and after 21 days it sends it to the IRS. That gap is your chance to call. The IRS bank levy page explains the 21-day hold.
A paycheck levy is different. Your employer sends part of every check to the IRS until the debt is paid, other arrangements are made, or the levy is released. Part of your pay stays exempt, based on your standard deduction and dependents.
Your employer hands you a statement to claim that exempt amount. Return it within three days. If you do not, the exempt part is figured as if you were married filing separately with no dependents. That is the smallest amount, per the IRS page on wage levies.
How do I get a levy released?
Call the IRS right away at the number on the levy notice. The levy release page lists when the IRS must release a levy:
- You paid the balance, or the time to collect ran out.
- You set up a payment plan and its terms do not allow the levy.
- Releasing it would help you pay the debt.
- The levy creates an economic hardship, meaning you cannot meet basic, reasonable living costs.
For hardship, the IRS must release a wage levy and decides a bank levy case by case. Be ready to give income and expense numbers on the call. A release stops the levy, not the debt.
Can the IRS take my Social Security?
Social Security benefits can be levied. Under the Federal Payment Levy Program, the Treasury can take 15% of each payment, or the exact tax owed if that is less. So on a $1,600 monthly check, $240 a month goes to the IRS until the debt is paid or you set up a plan.
First comes a final notice, often a CP90. If the IRS does not hear from you within 30 days of it, the levy goes to the Treasury electronically. Call 800-829-7650 to pay, set up a plan or propose an offer. The IRS asks you not to call Social Security about it.
What should you read next?
Questions people ask
How do I stop an IRS levy?
Ask for a hearing within 30 days of the final notice, or call the number on the notice and set up a payment plan. If the levy is already in place, ask for a release on hardship grounds.
How long does a bank hold money after an IRS levy?
The bank holds it for 21 days, then sends it to the IRS. Call during that window.
Can the IRS take my whole paycheck?
Part of your wages is exempt, set by your standard deduction and dependents. If the IRS applies your exemption to another source of income, it may take all the wages from one employer. Return the exemption statement within three days.
What is Form 12153?
It is the request for a Collection Due Process hearing. You mail it to the address on your levy notice.
Does a levy release mean I no longer owe?
No. The debt stays. A release only stops the IRS from taking that money.
Sources
- What is a levy?. Published by irs.gov.
- Collection due process (CDP) FAQs. Published by irs.gov.
- Information about bank levies. Published by irs.gov.
- Information about wage levies. Published by irs.gov.
- How do I get a levy released?. Published by irs.gov.
- Federal Payment Levy Program. Published by irs.gov.
- Publication 594, The IRS Collection Process. Published by irs.gov.
- Commissioner v. Zuch, U.S. Supreme Court (June 12, 2025). Published by supremecourt.gov.
Last checked October 2026
What to do now
- Find your final notice and the hearing deadline printed on it.
- Mail Form 12153 to the address on the notice before day 30.
- Call the IRS at the number on the notice to ask for a plan or a hardship release.
- Return your employer's exemption statement in three days so more of your pay stays exempt.
Call before day 30 on your final notice, or before day 21 of a bank hold, so a licensed tax professional can file first.
A licensed tax professional answers, not the IRS. The call costs nothing, and you give up nothing by calling. IRS Code Lookup is a private tax help service.