Tampa Bank Levy Attorney
If you owe a tax debt, you could be at risk of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) bank levy. There are many different reasons that individuals and businesses do not pay the appropriate amount of taxes owed. In some cases, unpaid taxes are a result of an honest mistake. An individual or a business may not realize that certain earnings or income are required to be reported, or an unintentional error may have been made on a tax return. In other scenarios, failure to pay tax owed, and ending up with significant tax debt, is a result of an intentional effort to evade taxes. In either situation, the IRS can end up coming after you or your business to get the money that you owe. If your failure to pay taxes was a result of intentional fraud, you could be facing additional criminal penalties.
When you owe tax debt, the IRS, like other entities or creditors, can take steps to force you to repay what you owe. Indeed, the IRS has many options to recover unpaid individual and business taxes. Bank levies are one option that the IRS can use to recover what you owe. If you know that you have unpaid tax debt and you have received notice of a bank levy, or if you need help getting a bank levy released, it is critical to seek advice from a Tampa bank levy attorney as soon as possible. One of the experienced tax lawyers at Ronald Cutler, P.A. can speak with you today about your options.
Understanding IRS Bank Levies in Tampa, Florida
According to the IRS, a levy is defined as a “legal seizure of your property to satisfy a tax debt.” Anytime a person owes tax money, the IRS can authorize a levy to collect delinquent tax. To be clear, an IRS levy can take many different forms—it does not have to be a bank levy. The IRS clarifies that “it can garnish wages, take money in your bank or other financial account, seize and sell your vehicles, real estate, and other personal property.”
Prior to the IRS issuing a levy, all of the following usually must be true:
- IRS will assess the taxes you owe and send you a Notice and Demand for Payment (in other words, the IRS must send you a tax bill);
- You received the Notice and Demand for Payment but you decided not to pay it or you outwardly refused to pay it; and
- IRS will send a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to A Hearing 30 days prior to the levy.
Depending upon the particular circumstances of your case, the levy notice—the last item on the list—can be delivered to you in person, it can be left at your home address, it can be left at your usual place of business, or it can be sent to your last known address. If the IRS does issue a bank levy, it can take money directly from your bank account.
Contact a Tampa Bank Levies Attorney
If you are facing a bank levy or need to get a levy released, one of the experienced Tampa bank levy lawyers at our firm can help. Contact Ronald Cutler, P.A. for more information.