Can the IRS take money from my bank account or a safety deposit box?

Question

The IRS is taking money from my paycheck because I owe them.

Answer 1

I'm most curious about the penalties for storing cash in a safe deposit box - if the cash was legally obtained you can put it anywhere (deposit account, to purchase anything, or a safe deposit box) you want.  If you owe IRS they can levy your bank account for sure - probably won't as long as the garnishment is working for them.

Answer 2

Yes on both counts.  You obviously know about the first and need to do something to make peace.  Entry to a safe deposit box would require your consent or a court order.

Answer 3

Taking money from your paycheck because you owe them.  Is this really a surprise to you? Of course they are, why not?

Answer 4

Yes, and no.

Lets address the last part. I REALLY hope you don't have money in your Safety Deposit Box. That is a HUGE violation. Although banks can't know what you have in there, if they suspect anything, we can contact the IRS and very easily get a Warrant to search your box. If they find money in the SD Box, that is around a $500,000 fine and up to 25 years in jail. So take that money out for your sake.

EDIT: I appologize, I did not see that they are already garnishing your pay check. In this case, they cannot do a Levy on your account since you are already paying off debt. If you stop, at any point, they can. What I said about your SD Box still goes.

And yes, they can take money out of your account. They can VERY simply do an IRS Levy on your account, where they legally cease all that you owe. More info on Levy's here http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/arti...

EDIT:

If you regularly place money in your box that you attained in normal ways, that's a-ok. However, since you owe money to the IRS, and you are hiding it in your Safe Deposit Box, that's illegal. Just spoke to our IRS Specialist, and if you store money in your box during an active Levy, or because you owe money to the IRS, that constitutes Evasion.

Answer 5

The responses that indicate the IRS won't levy a bank account if their levying wages are wrong. Indeed, they WILL pursue all levy sources until the balance is paid or a suitable payment arrangement is made.

You should call the IRS tomorrow and seek to resolve the balance. Most of the time you can get an installment agreement for much less than the levy is taking. You will have to have had all required tax returns filed, including 2007, unless you have an extension.

Answer 6

Although the IRS might need a court order to seize the contents of a safe deposit box, the IRS can "seize" the box itself serving a levy on the bank and sealing the box.  Although the "seizure" does not give the IRS access to the box, it denies access to the box's owner, providing the IRS with a bargaining chip.

Answer 7

Well, not from the safety deposit box.  If they are already garnishing your pay, I would think the rest of the money in the bank account would be left alone.

Answer 8

if the irs is already taking money out of your paycheck for money that you owe them they cannot take money out of any of your personal accounts bc you are already making payments for the money you owe