IRS wage levy · Form 668-W
The IRS is taking your paycheck. Here is how that works, and how it stops.
A federal wage levy keeps hitting every paycheck until it is released. The law sets how much you keep and lists the reasons the IRS must let go. These guides walk through both.
Exempt figure from IRS Publication 1494 (Rev. 12-2025) for levies served in 2026. Pay figure is hypothetical.
IRC 6331(e)
A wage levy is continuous until released.
IRC 6334(a)(9)
Part of every paycheck is exempt by law.
IRC 6343(a)
Five situations where release is required.
Read these first
How a Wage Levy Works
How to Stop an IRS Wage Garnishment
A wage levy does not expire on its own. The Internal Revenue Code lists the situations where the IRS must release it. Your job is to put yourself in one of them, fast.
How a Wage Levy Works
Form 668-W Explained: What Your Employer Just Received
Form 668-W is the document that turns your employer into an IRS collection agent. Here is what is on it, who gets which copy, and what you do next.
Your Exempt Amount
Publication 1494 for 2026: How Much of Your Paycheck the IRS Must Leave You
Publication 1494 is the table your employer uses to decide how much of your pay you keep. Here are the 2026 numbers, where they come from, and how to check the math.
Getting It Released
Economic Hardship: Getting a Wage Levy Released When You Cannot Pay the Bills
If the levy leaves you unable to pay rent, food and utilities, the law says the IRS shall release it. Here is what the IRS needs to see, and what it is not allowed to demand first.
Your Exempt Amount
The Wage Levy Statement of Dependents and Filing Status: How to Fill It Out
The form your employer hands you with the levy decides how much of each paycheck you keep. Three days, one page, and real money. Here is how to get it right.
Employers and Your Job
Can Your Employer Fire You Because of an IRS Wage Levy?
The levy is embarrassing. Losing your job over it would be worse. Federal law protects you in the one-debt situation. Here is how far that protection goes.
How much do you keep?
Publication 1494 sets the exempt amount for each pay period. Try your numbers.
Uses the per-pay-period figures in IRS Publication 1494 (Rev. 12-2025) for levies served in 2026. A levy served in an earlier year keeps that year’s figures unless you give your employer a new statement. If you file no statement, the employer must figure the exempt amount as married filing separately with no dependents. Court-ordered child support can add to the exempt amount. Your employer and the IRS make the actual calculation. This is an illustration, not legal advice.
All guides by topic
How a Wage Levy Works
- How to Stop an IRS Wage Garnishment
- Form 668-W Explained: What Your Employer Just Received
- Can the IRS Levy 1099 and Contractor Income Like a Paycheck?
- From Tax Bill to Wage Levy: The Steps the IRS Must Take First
- Wage Levy vs. Bank Levy: Why Your Paycheck and Your Account Are Treated Differently
- Wage Levy vs. Federal Tax Lien: What Each One Does to You
- When the Clock Runs Out: Wage Levies and the 10-Year Collection Statute
Your Exempt Amount
- Publication 1494 for 2026: How Much of Your Paycheck the IRS Must Leave You
- The Wage Levy Statement of Dependents and Filing Status: How to Fill It Out
- Age 65 or Blind? Your Wage Levy Exempt Amount Is Higher
- Who Counts as a Dependent on an IRS Wage Levy Statement
- IRS Wage Levies and Child Support: What Comes First
- Two Jobs, One IRS Levy: How the Exemption Works With Multiple Paychecks
- An Old Wage Levy Uses Old Numbers. Here Is How to Update It.
- IRS Wage Levies on Bonuses, Commissions and Severance Pay
- Wage Levies and Payroll Deductions: Health Insurance, 401(k) and the Take-Home Pay Rule
- When Both Spouses Owe: How the IRS Levies a Married Couple’s Wages
Getting It Released
- Economic Hardship: Getting a Wage Levy Released When You Cannot Pay the Bills
- Partial Release of a Wage Levy: Setting the Number You Can Live With
- Using an Installment Agreement to Get a Wage Levy Released
- Payroll Deduction Agreement vs. Wage Levy: Same Paycheck, Very Different Deal
- Currently Not Collectible Status and Your Wage Levy
- Offer in Compromise and Wage Levies: What a Pending Offer Does and Does Not Stop
- Using a Collection Due Process Hearing to Stop a Wage Levy
- Appealing a Wage Levy Through the Collection Appeals Program
- Unfiled Tax Returns and Wage Levies: What You Must File, and What the IRS Cannot Demand
- Bankruptcy and an IRS Wage Levy: What the Automatic Stay Does
- Getting Levied Wages Back from the IRS