3 Responses to Can Irs Garnish My Savings Account Of I Have A Joint Account With My Girlfriend?

  1. Tami C says:
    February 21, 2010 at 3:05 am

    Yes they can.
    Levy
    A levy is a legal seizure of your property to satisfy a tax debt. Levies are different from liens. A lien is a claim used as security for the tax debt, while a levy actually takes the property to satisfy the tax debt.
    If you do not pay your taxes (or make arrangements to settle your debt), the IRS may seize and sell any type of real or personal property that you own or have an interest in. For instance,
    We could seize and sell property that you hold (such as your car, boat, or house), or
    We could levy property that is yours but is held by someone else (such as your wages, retirement accounts, dividends, bank accounts, licenses, rental income, accounts receivables, the cash loan value of your life insurance, or commissions).
    We usually levy only after these three requirements are met:
    We assessed the tax and sent you a Notice and Demand for Payment;
    You neglected or refused to pay the tax; and
    We sent you a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to A Hearing (levy notice) at least 30 days before the levy. We may give you this notice in person, leave it at your home or your usual place of business, or send it to your last known address by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. Please note: if we levy your state tax refund, you may receive a Notice of Levy on Your State Tax Refund, Notice of Your Right to Hearing after the levy.

  2. shadowst says:
    February 21, 2010 at 6:46 am

    Yes they can, if you owe money to them after a period they can garnish any account that has your name and ss# attached to it. If you are concerned about this you should have seperate accounts. They will view that account as yours and take the money even if you have not contributed to it. On top of this they can freeze the account so that you can not access the money or close it so they can not get to the money. Your best bet would be to pay the IRS as soon as possible… call them to work out a payment schedule.

  3. indigino says:
    February 21, 2010 at 12:44 pm

    I am sure that there is an appeal process that you can go through for such a thing. Another point to be made is that they will only garnish your wages anyway. They only take out on a certain day of the month, and they only take what they have said they’ll take (e.g., 30+% each month or something). Therefore, in light of the slim chance that they’ll accept an appeal, I would suggest having your paycheck in your account at the time of garnishment.