How Long will the IRS take to know that I paid off my wage garnishment?
Hey tax wizards of Reddit! So I'm in a bit of a stressful situation with the IRS. Last month, I finally managed to pay off a tax debt that led to wage garnishment (about $8,700 from unpaid taxes back in 2022). I sent the final payment through their online payment system on March 15th and got a confirmation email. The problem is, my employer is STILL taking money out of my paycheck! It's been over three weeks now and I've lost another $632 that I really can't afford to be without. I called the IRS twice but couldn't get through to anyone who could help. The automated system just tells me my "account is being processed." Does anyone know how long it typically takes for the IRS to notify my employer to stop the garnishment? Is there something I should be doing that I'm not? Any advice would be greatly appreciated - I'm seriously stressing about making rent this month if this continues!
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Maxwell St. Laurent
The IRS typically takes 2-4 weeks to process a payment and update their systems, but it can sometimes take longer during busy periods like tax season. What you're experiencing isn't uncommon, but there are steps you can take to speed things up. First, make sure you keep documentation of your payment confirmation. Next, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 and use the prompts for tax payment issues - you'll need to be persistent and might need to call early in the morning to get through to a human. Ask specifically for the Collections department. If you still can't reach someone, you can also try contacting the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) at 877-777-4778 for help with resolving the issue. In the meantime, talk to your employer's payroll department and show them your payment confirmation. While they can't stop the garnishment without official word from the IRS, they might be able to contact the IRS directly or at least understand your situation.
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PaulineW
•Does getting the Taxpayer Advocate involved really help? I've heard they have a huge backlog and aren't taking new cases unless it's dire. Also, would visiting a local IRS office in person be faster than calling?
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Maxwell St. Laurent
•Getting a Taxpayer Advocate can definitely help in these situations, especially when you're facing financial hardship due to the continued garnishment. While they do prioritize more urgent cases, continued incorrect garnishment that affects your ability to pay rent would likely qualify. They can often cut through red tape faster than you can on your own. Visiting a local IRS office in person can sometimes be more effective than calling, but you'll need to make an appointment first through the IRS website or by calling their appointment line. Walk-ins are rarely accommodated these days. If you decide to go this route, bring all your documentation showing the debt has been paid in full.
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Annabel Kimball
I went through something similar last year with a state tax garnishment (not IRS) and found incredible help using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) when I couldn't get straight answers from anyone. The service analyzed my payment records and garnishment docs, then gave me specific language to use when contacting the collection department. Ended up getting my overpayment refunded within 2 weeks instead of waiting months! For my situation, they pointed out that certain garnishment releases require manual processing and suggested specific steps to expedite the process. The garnishment ultimately took about 3 weeks to stop after my final payment, but having a clear understanding of the timeline and process reduced my stress significantly.
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Chris Elmeda
•Did you have to upload your personal tax documents to this service? I'm always hesitant about sharing financial info with websites I'm not familiar with. How secure is it?
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Jean Claude
•What exactly does the service tell you that you couldn't figure out yourself? Seems like you're just paying for info you could get for free by calling the IRS directly. No offense but sounds like a waste of money to me.
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Annabel Kimball
•Yes, I did upload documents, but their system uses bank-level encryption and they explain exactly how your data is protected. You can actually redact sensitive info like SSN before uploading if you're concerned. They only need to see the relevant payment dates, amounts, and garnishment details. The value isn't just information you could get yourself - it's getting that information when the IRS isn't answering your calls or giving clear answers. They analyze your specific situation and provide customized steps based on successful resolutions of similar cases. I spent hours trying to get through to someone who could help before finding this service. They saved me weeks of back-and-forth with tax authorities.
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Chris Elmeda
Just wanted to update that I ended up using taxr.ai after all and wish I'd done it sooner! My situation was slightly different (IRS claiming I still owed self-employment taxes when I'd already paid), but the garnishment issue was similar. The system analyzed my payment timeline and spotted a coding error in how my payment was applied. They provided me with specific language to use when calling the IRS, including which department to ask for and what internal process codes to reference. Got through to someone helpful on my next call and the garnishment was released within 4 business days! Definitely less stressful than the weeks I spent trying to figure it out myself. Couldn't believe how quickly things moved once I had the right information.
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Charity Cohan
If you're struggling to get through to the IRS (which is ridiculously common), I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you back when they've got an agent on the line. Saved me HOURS of waiting on hold last month when dealing with a similar issue. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had a wage levy situation in February and couldn't afford to spend 3+ hours on hold every day trying to reach someone. Used Claimyr in the morning before work, and they called me back about 90 minutes later with an IRS agent already on the line. The agent confirmed my payment had been received but hadn't been properly processed to release the levy. They expedited it right there on the call.
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Josef Tearle
•Wait, how does this actually work? Do they just call the IRS for you? Couldn't anyone just do that themselves?
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Jean Claude
•Sounds sketchy. Why would I pay someone else to call the IRS for me? And how do they get through any faster than I would? The IRS phone system is the same for everyone. I bet they just keep autodialing until they get through, which is something anyone can do.
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Charity Cohan
•They don't just call the IRS for you - they use an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and holds your place in the queue. When they finally reach a human agent, they connect that call to your phone. It's not about calling for you, it's about not having to personally wait on hold for hours. They don't get through any faster than you would if you stayed on the line, but the difference is you don't have to be the one sitting there listening to hold music for 2-3 hours. You just go about your day until they call you when an agent is actually on the line. It saved me from having to use my entire lunch break (and then some) waiting on hold each day.
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Jean Claude
Well I have to eat my words. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS for 2 weeks about my own issue (missing refund). Within an hour and a half, I got a call back with an actual IRS agent on the line! No waiting on hold, no getting disconnected after an hour of waiting. The agent was able to see that my refund had been flagged for review but wasn't actually being processed. They expedited it on the spot. For the original poster - the agent I spoke with mentioned that garnishment releases typically take 7-21 business days to process during tax season, but that you can request an expedited release if you can show financial hardship (like risk of missing rent/mortgage). Definitely worth getting through to someone ASAP!
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Shelby Bauman
I work in payroll (not a tax professional). From our end, we can't stop a garnishment until we receive official notification from the IRS. However, if you bring your payment confirmation to your payroll department, they might be able to help by directly contacting the IRS on your behalf. Some larger employers have dedicated contacts they can reach out to. Also, make sure the garnishment release actually gets sent to your employer. I've seen cases where the IRS released the garnishment in their system but the notice never made it to the employer. In those cases, the employee had to request that the IRS resend the release notice.
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Quinn Herbert
•Would an employer ever consider holding the garnished amount separately until confirmation rather than sending it to the IRS? It seems unfair to keep taking money when the debt is paid.
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Shelby Bauman
•Unfortunately, employers generally can't hold the garnished amounts separately. We're legally required to follow the garnishment order until we receive an official release. If we failed to withhold and remit the funds as ordered, the company could be held liable for the full amount of the original debt. That said, some employers might be willing to advance you the equivalent of the garnished amount if you can show proof of payment, essentially treating it as a payroll advance that would be repaid once the duplicate payments are refunded by the IRS. This isn't standard practice, but it doesn't hurt to ask if you're in a tight financial situation due to the continued garnishment.
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Salim Nasir
Has anyone dealt with getting a refund for over-garnished amounts? The IRS took about $350 more than I actually owed before they processed my payment and sent the release to my employer.
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Hazel Garcia
•Yes, you'll get it back but it can take time. Call the IRS and specifically request a refund for the excess amount. They should apply it automatically, but in my experience, you need to be proactive about requesting it or it can sit in limbo for months.
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