Section 6331(a) of the Internal Revenue Code authorizes the IRS to administratively collect federal tax liabilities by levy, while a federal tax lien is in effect.  Because the IRS can do this without a court order, it is critical to know when the IRS will take action to enforce this power and, more importantly, what you can do to prevent it.

The IRS is supposed to send out three notices before levying on a taxpayer’s property.  The first notice is a demand for payment within ten days.  The second notice is a notice of intent to levy.  And, the third letter is a final notice of intent to levy and right to appeal.  When this final notice is received, the IRS is very close to taking some levy action.

While there are ways to prevent a levy, ignoring the notices is not one of them.  At a minimum, a taxpayer should call the phone number provided on the letters received to let the IRS know that you are paying attention and taking your tax debt very seriously.  However, when you call, the IRS representative with whom you speak is going to ask questions to find out how the amount you owe is going to be collected.  So, be extremely careful about what information, if any, you provide.