Wage garnishment is a form of tax levy that allows the government to take money from your paycheck until your tax debt is resolved. Your employer is legally required to comply with a garnishment order, and to pay the designated portion of your wages to the government instead of to you.

Since wage garnishment is basically an installment plan you have no choice but to accept, it can sometimes be removed through tax resolution . Setting up an approved installment plan with the IRS will allow you to stop wage garnishment, but you must make your payments on time and as scheduled to avoid default.

An installment plan is set up as a monthly payment , and may be considerably less than the amount your paycheck wage garnishment requires. It will also remove the burden on your employer and keep your tax affairs private.

This form of tax resolution is very common, but you need to be sure you can stick to both the payment amount and the schedule before you commit. Taxpayers who violate their installment agreements by making late payments—or missing even a single payment—may be placed in default status. If you default on an installment plan and cannot make another arrangement to pay your tax debt, you are likely to be returned to wage garnishment or face other levies.