Federal Payment
Levy Program
In July 2000, the IRS, in conjunction
with the Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS),
started the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) which is authorized by
Internal Revenue Code Section 6331 (h), as prescribed by the Taxpayer
Relief Act of 1997 Section 1024. Through this program, we can collect
your overdue taxes through a continuous levy on certain federal payments
disbursed by FMS. The following is a list of federal payments that can
be levied through the FPLP:
- federal employee retirement
annuities,
- federal payments made to you as a
vendor doing business with the government,
- federal employee travel advances or
reimbursements,
- certain
Social Security benefits paid to you, and
- some federal salaries.
In the future, the program will expand
to include additional federal employee salaries and other types of
federal payments.
Federal payments to a delinquent
taxpayer will not be included in the program in certain circumstances.
These circumstances include, when you are in bankruptcy, have applied
for relief as an innocent or injured spouse, made alternative
arrangements to pay, or the IRS has determined you are in a hardship
situation.
As part of this program, a file of
delinquent accounts is transmitted to FMS to be matched against pending
federal payments you are due. When a match is found, we send you a
Final Notice - Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a
Hearing, CP 90 or CP 297, if another Final Notice has not already
been issued. See
Tax Information for Appeals for additional information about your
right to a hearing.
If we don't hear from you within 30 days
from the date of the Final Notice, we will transmit the levy
electronically to FMS. This applies to all federal payments that can be
levied except for certain
Social Security benefits. See
Topic
201, The Collection Process, Publication
594, Understanding the Collection Process, and Publication
1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer , for additional information.
From that point on, FMS may reduce any
federal payments subject to the levy by 15 percent, or the exact amount
of tax owed if it is less than 15 percent of the payment. The levy is
continuous until your overdue taxes are paid in full, or other
arrangements are made to satisfy the debt. Each time your federal
payment is levied, FMS will send you a letter of explanation, including
information on which federal payment was levied, and advise you to
contact us for resolution.
Contact us toll-free at 1-800-829-7650
or 1-800-829-3903 to resolve the issue by paying the tax bill, entering
into an installment agreement, or proposing an Offer in Compromise.
Please do not contact the FMS, OPM, SSA, or any other federal agency.
See
Topic 202, What to Do if You Can't Pay Your Tax, and
Topic
204, Offers In Compromise, for additional information. |
