Tax Levy, Bank Levy, Wage Levy… What’s a Levy and How Can You Protect Yourself

A tax levy is an administrative action by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to seize property to satisfy a tax liability. In layman’s terms, it is the process the government can use to take your property (bank accounts, income, real property, investments, etc.). It is one of the most powerful enforcement actions the IRS has in its arsenal. If you ignore the several attempts by the IRS to have you voluntarily bring your account into compliance, the IRS can, and usually will, use a tax levy to attempt to collect the debt.