Orlando Wage Garnishment Lawyer

Orlando Wage Garnishment Attorney

You rely on your wages to support you and your family. If you face wage garnishment penalties, this can cause significant hardship in your ability to meet your family’s daily needs. Wage garnishment can prevent you from saving, covering your basic expenses, or even paying your bills. You need to act quickly, and an Orlando IRS Tax lawyer can guide you through your options to negotiate, payback, and settle your tax debt.

When you are losing portions of your wages or are anticipating wage garnishment from a tax agency, you need skilled legal representation. At Tax Smith Tax Attorneys, our team has decades of collective tax law experience. We understand the devastating financial consequences of wage garnishment and want to settle your debt and avoid further financial hardship. When you cannot pay back your debt, you may feel you are out of options. Contact us today, we can help find you the right path to resolve your debt.

Wage Garnishment Negotiation

Wage garnishment is not the first step a tax agency or other creditor takes to recover unpaid debt. You will generally receive notice of nonpayment or bills first. If you ignore these notices, you may receive a notice of wage garnishment, followed by actual garnishment. It’s important to get in contact with an attorney early in this process. This may limit the financial impact the debt has on you.

The earlier you work with our attorneys, the sooner we can begin looking for solutions to your tax debt and represent you in any negotiations. We may be able to prevent wage garnishment before it affects you. Our team knows how to address IRS collection actions for both individual and business taxpayers. Tax debt and garnishment are stressful, and we can provide you with the necessary legal support to manage it.

How Does Wage Garnishment Work?

Wage garnishment is used by creditors to pay back the debt you owe them. When you owe taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), they have the right to take actions to recover those taxes, including by garnishing your wages. While other creditors must go through the court to garnish wages, the IRS does not. The agency can contact your employer and require them to remove a portion of your wages. This portion goes directly to paying off your tax debt.

The amount of wages the IRS can withhold is dependent on the size of the debt owed. However, the IRS cannot garnish more than 25% of your disposable income. The agency may garnish your wages until the debt is repaid or an alternative collection method is established, including placing liens on your property or levying funds from your bank account.

Wage garnishment takes from your earnings, whether you are salaried, hourly, or self-employed, and can include other types of income, including bonuses, tips, and commissions. Social security or military benefits can also be garnished. Each type of income could be impacted differently, and speaking with a qualified attorney about your unique circumstances can help you prepare for what your situation could look like.

Your attorney will work on your behalf to negotiate or fight back against debt claims to help avoid wage garnishment. With the help of Tax Smith Tax Attorneys, you will have the support you need to minimize the impacts of wage garnishment.

Options to Stop Wage Garnishment

One of the options to stop IRS wage garnishment is to pay your back taxes. This also limits future IRS actions. However, many taxpayers find themselves subject to garnishment because they are not financially able to pay back their debt. If you cannot pay back your tax debt in Orlando, you can consider other options for resolving wage garnishment, including:

• Negotiating to receive a lowered garnishment amount, reducing the portion of your wages that is removed with the help of an attorney
• Resolving your tax debt, such as through a payment plan or an offer in compromise
• Qualifying for a head of household exemption, which prevents your wages from being garnished or requires you to explicitly agree to garnishment
• If you qualify, filing for bankruptcy could also prevent garnishment. However, bankruptcy can present its own set of challenges.

These are just a few of the ways that you could avoid wage garnishment. An attorney can review the options to determine which is most personally and financially beneficial for you.

FAQs About Orlando, FL Wage Garnishment Law

How Do I Fight Wage Garnishment in Florida?

You can fight wage garnishment in Florida most effectively by obtaining the services of a qualified tax attorney. With their help, you can work to pay the debt you owe in full. Creditor action against you should cease once this payment is processed. If you are not financially able to pay back your debt, you and your attorney can negotiate with a creditor to reach an agreement on paying back the debt owed, potentially without garnishment.

What Income Cannot Be Garnished in Florida?

A portion of your income cannot be garnished in Florida if you qualify for the head of household exemption. If you qualify, you must agree in writing to any garnishment of your wages. If your weekly disposable income is $750 or less, your income cannot be garnished at all. You may qualify for the head of household exemption if you provide more than half the support for a minor child or other dependent.

What Is the Maximum Wage Garnishment in Florida?

The maximum wage garnishment in Florida is outlined by federal law, which states that creditors are limited to garnishing just 25% or any wages that are 30 times the federal minimum wage—whichever amount is lower. To understand how much your wages could be impacted, review the details of your case with your attorney.

How Do You Negotiate a Garnishment Settlement?

You can negotiate wage garnishment with the help of a skilled tax attorney. You should act quickly if the IRS or state tax agency has sent you any notice or has begun to garnish your wages. If you meet the qualifications, settlement may be an option in negotiations, allowing you to settle your debt for less. Even if you do not qualify for this option, there are other routes to manage your tax debt, including payment plans or hiring a penalty abatement lawyer in Orlando.

Protecting Yourself From Wage Garnishment in Orlando

Tax Smith Tax Attorneys can help you gain control over your financial situation. We have helped many taxpayers resolve wage garnishment and other IRS collection actions. Whether you are facing creditors or back taxes, our team can help you navigate the potential reduction in your income so that you can continue to provide for yourself and your family. Contact our team today.