Notice of Levy on Wages (668-W)

What Is the 668-W Notice of Levy on Wages?

The IRS does not garnish your wages without warning. Before a wage levy is issued, the IRS sends a series of notices — warning shots, essentially — giving you the opportunity to resolve your tax debt before enforcement action begins. These notices include balance due letters, notices of intent to levy, and final notices with your right to a hearing.

The 668-W (Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income) is what happens when those warnings go unanswered. This is not another warning. This is the actual levy. The IRS sends the 668-W directly to your employer, directing them to begin withholding a significant portion of your wages and sending it to the IRS.

Once your employer receives a 668-W, the warnings are over. The IRS has moved to enforcement.

Your Employer Has No Choice

When your employer receives a 668-W, they are legally required to comply. Your employer cannot ignore the notice, delay it, or reduce the amount. They must begin withholding the amount specified by the IRS starting with the very next paycheck.

The 668-W includes a table that tells your employer how much of your pay is exempt from the levy. The exempt amount is based on your filing status and number of dependents — and it is typically very small. Everything above that exempt amount is sent directly to the IRS.

For many people, a 668-W levy means taking home only a few hundred dollars per paycheck, regardless of how much they earn. The IRS designed the garnishment this way intentionally — it is meant to force you to address your tax debt because very few people can sustain their household on what the levy leaves behind.

Releasing a Garnishment Is Harder Than Preventing One

This is a critical point that many taxpayers do not understand until it is too late. It is far easier to prevent a wage garnishment than it is to release one that is already in place.

Before the levy is issued, you have multiple opportunities to enter into a resolution — payment plans, Offers in Compromise, Currently Not Collectible status — and the IRS will generally work with you. Once the 668-W has been sent to your employer, the dynamic changes. The IRS has already escalated to enforcement, and releasing the levy requires you to take specific steps quickly and correctly.

To release a wage garnishment, you will generally need to:

• File all missing tax returns. The IRS will not discuss any resolution until all of your returns are filed and current.
• Complete a financial statement. The IRS needs to understand your current financial situation to evaluate your options.
• Propose a resolution. You must put a formal proposal on the table — an installment agreement, Offer in Compromise, or Currently Not Collectible status — that the IRS can evaluate and accept.

All of this must happen quickly, because the garnishment continues taking your pay every single pay period until it is officially released.

We Can Release Your Garnishment Within 24-48 Hours

At Colonial Tax Consultants, we understand how devastating a wage garnishment is to your family's finances. Missing even one paycheck to a garnishment can mean falling behind on rent, mortgage, utilities, and other essential expenses.

That is why we move fast. When you call us about a 668-W garnishment, we immediately begin the process of getting the levy released. Our goal is to have a release issued before your next paycheck is affected.

Here is how we do it:

1. Immediate case review. We assess your situation, identify any missing returns, and determine the fastest path to release.
2. Contact the IRS. We reach out to the IRS on your behalf, using our Power of Attorney to speak directly with the Revenue Officer or Automated Collection System handling your case.
3. File missing returns. If returns are missing, we work to get them filed as quickly as possible so the IRS will begin discussing resolution options.
4. Propose a resolution. We put a proposal on the table — installment agreement, Offer in Compromise, or another option — that satisfies the IRS's requirements for releasing the levy.
5. Secure the release. Once the IRS agrees to the resolution, they issue a 668-D (Release of Levy) to your employer, and your full paycheck is restored.

We strive to have the garnishment release issued before your next paycheck. In many cases, we can accomplish this within 24-48 hours of taking your case.

If Your Employer Has Received a 668-W, Contact Us Immediately

Time is not on your side. Every pay period that passes with the garnishment in place means more of your money going to the IRS instead of to your family. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can begin working to release the levy and protect your income.

Do not try to negotiate with the IRS on your own when a garnishment is active. The IRS Revenue Officers who handle these cases deal with taxpayers every day, and they know exactly how to use the pressure of a garnishment to get what they want. You need someone on your side who understands the system and knows how to get results quickly.

Call Colonial Tax Consultants at (866) 573-3755 today. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm, and you will speak directly with someone who can help.

You can also request a free consultation online, and we will contact you promptly. If you have a garnishment in progress, please let us know so we can prioritize your case.

What Happens After the Garnishment Is Released?

Releasing the garnishment is the first step, but it is not the last. The underlying tax debt that caused the garnishment still needs to be resolved. If you enter into an installment agreement to release the levy, you need to stay current on those payments. If you submit an Offer in Compromise, you need to comply with all terms while it is pending and after it is accepted.

We do not just release your garnishment and walk away. We work with you to establish a long-term resolution that prevents the IRS from ever garnishing your wages again. Our goal is to get your account into a protected position and keep it there.

To learn more about how IRS garnishments work and how much the IRS can take from your paycheck, visit our IRS Wage Garnishment page or review the Wage Garnishment Table to see exactly how much the IRS will leave you based on your filing status and dependents.