IRS Can Garnish Part Of Social Secruity Check
Social security payments are exempt from garnishment under federal social security statutes. The IRS has collection remedies significantly more powerful than a creditor’s collection tools under state law. A CPA asked me the intersection of social security exemptions and IRS collections: can the IRS garnish a taxpayer’s social security check.
Section 6334 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 6334 (c)) allows Social Security benefits to be taken to collect unpaid Federal taxes. If your monthly benefit is more than $750, the IRS may garnish fifteen percent of your social security monthly benefit for taxes that are at least six months in arrears. The IRS is required to notify you before it begins to garnish , and you can appeal the garnishment for"hardship.”
This rule is common sense. People who owe the government money should pay their government debt before they receive additional government money.
while i agree that everyone that owes their creditors should pay their debts including the government;i beg to differ with you that social security is the government's money.it is the taxpayer's money that was paid thru deductions or other means.just like a lot of politicians that tout how much money they have gotten for their district.yeah,it is the taxpayers' money,not the politician's money.let us not confuse apples with oranges.