Most people think of a levy release as a switch: on or off. It is not. The IRS can release a wage levy in part. A partial release is often the fastest practical fix, because it gives the IRS a reliable payment and gives you back enough to live on, without waiting for every piece of a long-term agreement to fall into place.
The legal basis
IRC 6343(a)(1) says the IRS shall release the levy upon “all, or part of” the property levied upon when a release condition exists. Treasury Regulation 301.6343-1(a) repeats it: the IRS must promptly release a levy upon all or part of the property when a condition requiring release exists.
IRM 5.11.2.3.4 identifies the form: Form 668-D, Release of Levy/Release of Property from Levy, is used to release a levy served on Form 668-W, and it “can be used to release the levy in part or in full.”
Two ways to write a partial release
IRM 5.11.2.3.4 gives two examples, and they work in opposite directions.
Release wages below a set amount
A taxpayer defaults on an installment agreement and his wages are levied. The full levy creates a hardship, but a smaller one would not. The IRS issues a release of wages less than $X. You receive up to that amount each payday. Anything earned above it is sent as levy proceeds.
Use this when your problem is that the Publication 1494 exempt amount is too low to cover your actual basic expenses. It raises the floor.
Release wages above a set amount
A taxpayer fails to respond to the Collection Due Process notice and his wages are levied. He then contacts the revenue officer and they agree on a monthly payment amount. A payroll deduction agreement would be the preferred way to resolve the case, but the employer is reluctant. So the IRS issues a partial release of wages greater than $X. A fixed amount is sent to the IRS each payday. Anything more is paid to the taxpayer.
Use this when you and the IRS have agreed on what you can pay. It caps the IRS’s take at the agreed number.
When a partial release fits
Economic hardship, but not total
IRM 5.11.2.3.1.4 tells IRS employees that if the full levy creates an economic hardship but a smaller amount would not, release only enough of the levy to prevent the hardship. The IRM’s worked example: a taxpayer’s financial statement shows he can pay $400 a month, and the IRS faxes a partial release to the employer so that he keeps everything needed to meet necessary living expenses. See economic hardship release.
Child support
When a taxpayer shows proof of required child support after the levy is served, IRM 5.11.5.4 says to release enough of the levy so the support can be paid. That is a partial release. See wage levies and child support.
A tax period drops off
IRM 5.11.2.3.4 also describes releasing individual tax modules from a levy, using Form 668-D to show the amount still due after removing a module, for example when the collection statute expires on one of the periods.
Partial release versus an installment agreement
A partial release that caps the levy at an agreed amount looks a lot like a payment plan. It is not the same thing. IRM 5.11.5.6 warns IRS employees not to use a continuous levy as a way to set up an unofficial installment agreement. An actual installment agreement under IRC 6159 comes with protections: IRC 6331(k)(2) bars levy while the agreement is in effect and for 30 days after termination, plus while a timely appeal of the termination is pending, and IRC 6159(b)(5) requires 30 days’ notice before most terminations.
So a partial release can be a bridge. When you qualify, the destination is usually a formal agreement. See installment agreements and wage levies and payroll deduction agreements.
How to ask for a partial release
- Know your number. Work out what you need each pay period for basic living expenses, or what you can pay each month. Use real figures from bills and bank statements.
- Prepare a financial statement. The IRS needs a financial analysis, usually on Form 433-F or Form 433-A, to justify a hardship-based partial release. Treasury Regulation 301.6343-1(a) allows the IRS to require supporting documentation.
- Call the IRS office on the levy or the assigned revenue officer. State which kind of partial release you are asking for: release of wages below a floor, or a cap on the amount sent.
- Ask that the release be faxed. IRM 5.11.2.3.3 says a release may be faxed when it must be released quickly, if the employer has a fax and will accept it.
- Get a copy of the Form 668-D for your records and hand-deliver another to payroll.
- Check the next stub. Payroll must change its calculation from the Pub. 1494 exemption to the amounts on the release.
An example with numbers
Keisha is head of household with one child, paid biweekly. Her 2026 exempt amount under Publication 1494 (Rev. 12-2025) is $928.85 plus $203.85, or $1,132.70. Her take-home pay is $2,300, so the levy sends $1,167.30 to the IRS every two weeks. Her rent, utilities, child care, car payment, insurance and food come to $1,750 every two weeks.
Her financial statement shows she can afford about $550 every two weeks toward the debt. The IRS issues a Form 668-D releasing wages under $1,750 per pay period. From then on, she keeps $1,750 and anything above it, $550 at her current pay, goes to the IRS. If her pay rises, the IRS gets more. If she prefers a fixed payment, the other version of the release caps the IRS at a set amount each payday.
Either way, she goes from keeping $1,132.70 to keeping what her documented expenses require. That is the difference between falling behind on rent and not.
What a partial release does not do
It does not stop penalties and interest. It does not satisfy the debt. It does not prevent a later levy if your situation changes; IRC 6343(a)(3) says a release does not prevent a subsequent levy. Treat it as breathing room, and use the breathing room to finish the long-term fix.
If the IRS refuses a partial release you believe the regulation requires, you can appeal through the Collection Appeals Program.
All or nothing is a false choice. Ask for the number that lets you live and lets the IRS get paid.