The deadline is read correctly
Not every letter that says levy carries hearing rights, and not every one that does says so clearly. We know which is which.
IRS Problems
Everything here runs on a deadline, and most of them are 30 days
A lien is a claim on what you own. A levy takes it. The difference between the two is usually a letter you had thirty days to answer.
Collection escalates in a fixed order. A balance-due notice becomes a series of reminders, then a CP504 warning that the IRS intends to seize a state refund and other property. The letter that matters most is the Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing, which arrives as an LT11 or Letter 1058. From the date on that letter you have thirty days to request a Collection Due Process hearing, and that request both stops the levy and puts an independent settlement officer between you and the collection unit.
A separate track is the Notice of Federal Tax Lien, which is recorded publicly and attaches to property you own. It is not a seizure, but it follows a house to closing and it can be released, withdrawn, subordinated or discharged depending on what you need it to do. A bank levy is different again: the bank freezes the funds and holds them for 21 days before sending them to the IRS, which is the only window there is. Call the same day the levy hits, not the week after.
Scope
What’s included
Same-day levy response
A bank levy has a 21-day hold and a wage garnishment repeats every pay period. Both are worked immediately.
Collection Due Process requests
Filed on Form 12153 within the deadline on the LT11 or Letter 1058, which suspends levy action while it is heard.
Wage garnishment release
Releases are worked through the assigned revenue officer or ACS, usually by putting an acceptable alternative in place.
Lien release, withdrawal and subordination
Release ends the lien, withdrawal removes the public filing on Form 12277, and subordination on Form 14134 lets a refinance close.
Discharge for a property sale
Form 14135 asks the IRS to release a specific property from the lien so a sale can complete.
Hardship and Taxpayer Advocate referral
Where a levy causes immediate hardship, Form 911 puts the case in front of the Taxpayer Advocate Service.
Outcome
Why it matters
A hearing is a pause and a forum
A timely Collection Due Process request suspends levy action and lets collection alternatives be argued to someone outside the collection unit.
Liens are handled with the closing in mind
If you are selling or refinancing, the request that clears the way is not the same as the one that ends the lien.
Process
How it works
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Call the day it happens
Read us the notice number and the date. Those two things decide what can still be done.
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Stop the action
Power of attorney on file, hearing requested if the right is live, and contact made with the officer holding the case.
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Put an alternative in place
Levies come off when something acceptable replaces them — filed returns, an agreement, hardship status or an offer.
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Clear the record
Once the balance is resolved we pursue release and, where you qualify, withdrawal of the public lien filing.
Suited to
Who this is for
- Anyone holding an LT11, Letter 1058 or CP504
- Employees whose wages are already being garnished
- Taxpayers whose bank account was frozen this week
- Homeowners selling or refinancing with a lien recorded
- Business owners visited by a revenue officer
FAQ
Questions
Not yet. The bank freezes the funds and holds them for 21 days before remitting them to the IRS. That window is short and it is the whole opportunity, so the call should be made the same day rather than after the next pay cycle.
A lien is a legal claim against your property that secures the debt — it shows up when you sell or refinance. A levy is the actual taking: wages, a bank account, a receivable. A lien can sit for years; a levy happens on a date.
No. Missing the Collection Due Process deadline costs you the right to take the matter to Tax Court, but an equivalent hearing may still be available for a limited period, and collection alternatives can still be proposed directly. It narrows the options rather than ending them.
Often needed alongside this
Other services
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Back Taxes & Unfiled Returns
Unfiled returns and unpaid balances feel permanent. They are not. Almost every case has a defined, legal path to resolution — the hard part is starting it.
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Installment Agreements & Payment Plans
An instalment agreement will not reduce what you owe, but it stops the collection machine and puts the balance on a schedule you can live with.
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IRS Representation & Audit Defense
Sign a Form 2848 and every letter, every phone call and every deadline becomes ours to manage.
Let’s find out what you should actually be paying.
Thirty minutes with an Enrolled Agent, at no charge. Bring last year’s return and we will tell you plainly what we would do differently — and what it would cost.