Your card was declined, or a check bounced, or the bank called. The IRS has levied your account. Your heart rate is up and your brain is making plans that are not good plans.
Take a breath. The reality is usually much more manageable than the nightmare in your head. A bank levy has a built-in pause of 21 days under IRC § 6332(c). The next 48 hours are about using that pause well. Here is the checklist I would walk you through.
Hour 0 to 4: Get the facts from your bank
- Ask for a copy of the levy. It is usually a Form 668-A, Notice of Levy. See Form 668-A explained.
- Ask when and how the bank received it. The 21 days run from service on the bank. If it came by certified mail, the delivery date controls (IRM 5.11.4.11).
- Ask which accounts are frozen and how much is held. The levy reaches only what was on deposit at service, up to the levy amount (Treas. Reg. § 301.6332-3(c)(3)).
- Ask whether money above the levy amount is available and how new deposits will be handled. New deposits are not caught by the existing levy (IRM 5.11.4.4).
- Ask about fees, and keep every statement and notice. The bank may not reduce the IRS's share to cover its fee (IRM 5.11.4.4.3), so the fee usually hits your other money.
Then calendar day 21 and the next business day after it. The 21-day hold calculator does the math.
Hour 4 to 12: Read the levy like a lawyer
- Is the taxpayer you? Or your business, or an ex-spouse on an old joint return?
- Which tax periods and amounts? Do they match what you think you owe?
- Who is the IRS contact? A revenue officer, or an Automated Collection System call site?
- Did something legally block this levy? Check whether any of these were in place when it was issued:
- An installment agreement request or agreement in effect (IRC § 6331(k)(2)).
- A pending offer in compromise (§ 6331(k)(1)).
- A timely Collection Due Process hearing request (§ 6330(e)).
- An open bankruptcy case (11 U.S.C. § 362(a)).
If any of those apply, you may be looking at a levy that the IRS is required to release. IRM 5.11.2.3.1 lists a levy issued while a CDP hearing is pending as an example of a levy that violates the Code and must be released.
Hour 12 to 24: Pick your release ground
IRC § 6343(a)(1) requires release in five situations. For most people in the first two days, it comes down to one of these:
| Your situation | Likely ground | Read next |
|---|---|---|
| You cannot pay rent, food, or medical bills without the money | Economic hardship, § 6343(a)(1)(D) | Hardship release |
| You can make monthly payments | Installment agreement, § 6343(a)(1)(C) | Payment plans |
| You already paid, or the IRS made an error | Satisfied liability or erroneous levy | All release grounds |
| The money belongs to someone else | Wrongful levy, § 6343(b) | Wrongful levy claims |
| Your business account is frozen and payroll is due | Partial release; facilitate collection | Business accounts |
Hour 24 to 36: Build the paper
The IRS can require "any supporting documentation as is reasonably necessary" before it releases (Treas. Reg. § 301.6343-1(a)). Show up with it.
- A financial statement. Form 433-F or 433-A for individuals; Form 433-B for businesses. List every account. The IRM names "failing to make full disclosure of assets" as bad faith that can defeat a hardship release (IRM 5.11.2.3.1.4).
- Three months of bank statements for every account.
- Proof of income: pay stubs, benefit letters, invoices.
- Proof of urgency: lease, eviction or shutoff notices, payroll schedule, medical bills.
- Proof of payment or agreement, if you think the IRS made a mistake.
- Your filing status. Unfiled returns do not lawfully block a hardship release (IRM 5.11.2.3.1.4), but you will need them for any installment agreement or offer.
Hour 36 to 48: Make the call and ask for the release
Call the number on the levy. Treas. Reg. § 301.6332-3(d)(1) specifically directs depositors with a problem to call that number. The regulation on releases lets you ask in writing or by telephone, and lists what to give: your name, address, and taxpayer ID; a description of the levied property; the type of tax and periods; the date of the levy; and the grounds for release (Treas. Reg. § 301.6343-1(c)(1)).
When you get a yes:
- Ask for Form 668-D, Release of Levy, and ask that it be faxed to the bank (IRM 5.11.2.3.3 allows faxing when speed matters).
- Ask for a copy for yourself.
- Write down the employee's name, ID number, date, and what was agreed.
When you get a no, ask for the manager the same day. Then look at the Collection Appeals Program and, in hardship cases, the Taxpayer Advocate Service. See CAP for bank levies and the Taxpayer Advocate.
Five mistakes that make it worse
- Waiting. Every day you wait is a day of the 21 you do not get back.
- Waiving the hold. A depositor can waive the 21-day hold (Treas. Reg. § 301.6332-3(c)(4)). Do not do it unless you have decided the money is going to the IRS anyway.
- Hiding money. It rarely works, it can wreck a hardship request, and the IRS can levy again under § 6331(c).
- Arguing with the bank. The bank cannot release the levy and is protected for honoring it under § 6332(e). See what your bank does with a levy.
- Ignoring the co-owner. A spouse, parent, or partner on the account may have a wrongful levy claim that can protect their share. They need to act too.
What about Collection Due Process?
Look at the date on your last IRS letter that mentioned a right to a hearing, usually an LT11 or Letter 1058. If you are still inside 30 days, a written CDP request under § 6330 suspends levy action for those periods. If not, you can request an equivalent hearing in writing within one year after the date of the CDP notice (Treas. Reg. § 301.6330-1(i)), but collection is not required to stop for it. Details in CDP hearings to stop a bank levy.
Two days. One list. Twenty-one days of runway. That is more than most people think they have.
If you would rather hand this to a lawyer, call the office at (813) 229-7100. For the firm's general approach to levies, see the tax levies page.