How to Complete IRS Wage Garnishment Forms and Get a Levy Released

If the IRS is garnishing your paycheck, the form driving it is Form 668-W, and the form you need to complete is the Statement of Dependents and Filing Status that your employer hands you from it. Return it within three days. That single step, more than any other, controls how much of your check you keep while you work on releasing or replacing the levy. This guide walks through the IRS wage garnishment forms in the order they matter to you: the exemption statement inside Form 668-W, Form 2159 to set up a voluntary payroll deduction, Form 12153 to challenge the levy, and Form 433-A to prove economic hardship.

What Form 668-W Actually Is

Form 668-W is titled “Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income.” The IRS serves it on your employer under 26 U.S.C. § 6331, and your employer is legally required to comply.¹²

A wage levy is continuous. Unlike a bank levy that only takes what sits in your account on a single day, Form 668-W attaches to every future paycheck until the IRS formally releases it.³ It reaches your regular salary, bonuses, commissions, and fees. A one-time bonus check does not escape the levy.²

Complete the Statement of Exemptions Within Three Days

When your employer receives Form 668-W, they will hand you a portion of it, the Statement of Dependents and Filing Status. You have three days to fill it out and return it.⁴

The statement asks for two things:

Your filing status. Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, or Head of Household. Use the status that matches your most recent return.
Your dependents. List each dependent’s name and relationship. More dependents means a larger exempt amount.

If you don’t return the form within three days, your employer must calculate the exempt amount as if you are married filing separately with zero dependents.⁴ That is the smallest exempt amount the tables produce. People who set the form aside because they are overwhelmed lose more of their paycheck than the law requires. Fill it out the same day.

How Much of Your Paycheck You Get to Keep

Your employer doesn’t guess at the exempt amount. The IRS publishes tables in Publication 1494 that set the exact dollar figure protected from levy based on your filing status, number of dependents, and pay frequency. Everything above that amount goes to the IRS.

The formula behind the tables comes from 26 U.S.C. § 6334(d). In years when the personal exemption amount is zero, which has been the case since 2018, the weekly exempt amount equals your standard deduction plus $4,150 (adjusted annually for inflation) for each dependent, divided by 52.⁵ Biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly tables adjust accordingly. Publication 1494 is updated each year.

From the current tables (Rev. 12-2025), a single taxpayer paid weekly claiming three dependents has $615.38 exempt from levy. Paid biweekly, that exempt amount roughly doubles. A taxpayer who is over 65 or blind receives an additional amount. Every dependent and every status adjustment moves the number meaningfully, which is why the Statement of Exemptions matters so much.

Form 2159: Set Up a Payroll Deduction Agreement

Form 2159 is the wage-garnishment form you can initiate. It sets up a Payroll Deduction Agreement, a voluntary arrangement where your employer withholds a fixed amount each pay period and sends it to the IRS.⁶ The advantage over a Form 668-W levy is control: you propose the amount within limits the IRS will accept, and an accepted agreement can replace more aggressive collection.

To complete Form 2159, you need:

Your employer’s full legal name, address, and payroll contact.
Your Social Security number, the tax periods you owe for listed by form number and year, and the total owed as of the agreement date.
A per-period deduction amount large enough to pay off the balance, penalties, and interest within a reasonable time.

The form has a section to pre-authorize scheduled increases or decreases by specifying the date, the change, and the new payment total.⁷ Building in a planned increase, such as after a car loan ends, can help the IRS approve an agreement that starts at a lower payment.

Both you and your employer sign the form. Once signed, it is a binding payroll instruction. Submit the completed form to the IRS office handling your case; the address is on your most recent collection notice or from the revenue officer assigned to you. If your finances change after the agreement is active, call 1-800-829-7650 for wage earners or 1-800-829-3903 for self-employed and business owners.⁷

Form 12153: Challenge the Levy at a CDP Hearing

If you believe the IRS should not be levying your wages, file Form 12153 to request a Collection Due Process hearing. The deadline is 30 days from the date on your Final Notice of Intent to Levy (Letter 1058 or LT11).⁸

A timely CDP request generally stops the levy from proceeding while the hearing is pending, suspends the 10-year collection statute of limitations, and preserves your right to take the case to Tax Court if you disagree with the Appeals decision.⁹

On the form, you have to state a reason. Accepted grounds include:

You don’t owe the tax, or the assessment is wrong.
Innocent spouse relief applies.
The tax was discharged in bankruptcy.
Payments you already made weren’t credited to your account.
You want to propose an installment agreement, offer in compromise, or currently-not-collectible status.
The levy prevents you from meeting basic living expenses.

If you miss the 30-day window, you can still request an Equivalent Hearing within one year of the levy notice date. An equivalent hearing gets you Appeals review, but it won’t stop the levy and it won’t give you the right to Tax Court afterward.⁹ If you have any reason to dispute the levy, file within 30 days.

Getting the Levy Released

A Form 668-W levy stays in effect until the IRS releases it. The IRS is required to release the levy when any of these apply:

You paid the balance in full.
You entered an installment agreement whose terms don’t allow the levy to continue.
The levy is causing economic hardship by preventing you from meeting basic, reasonable living expenses.
The 10-year collection statute of limitations expired before the levy was issued.
Releasing the levy will actually help you pay the tax.
The property being levied is worth more than the debt, and release won’t hurt collection.

¹⁰

When the IRS releases the levy, it sends Form 668-D (Release of Levy/Release of Property from Levy) to your employer.² Until your employer receives Form 668-D, they are legally required to keep withholding. A phone call to the IRS or a verbal promise from an agent doesn’t stop the deductions. Only the written release does.

Form 433-A: Proving Economic Hardship

Economic hardship is the fastest path to release when you cannot pay and cannot survive the garnishment. To make the case, complete Form 433-A (Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals). It requires a detailed breakdown of your finances: bank accounts, investments, real property, vehicles, monthly income from all sources, and monthly living expenses down to food, housing, transportation, and health care.¹¹ The IRS compares your necessary expenses to your income. If the levy leaves you unable to cover basic costs, the agency is required to release it.

Gather supporting documents before you call: pay stubs, bank statements, rent or mortgage records, utility bills, and medical expense records. The IRS may ask for verification of anything you report. Having it ready shortens the review and makes it harder for a revenue officer to challenge your numbers.

When Form 668-W Doesn’t Apply

If your income is Social Security, a federal retirement pension, or another federal payment, the IRS does not use Form 668-W. Those payments are collected through the Federal Payment Levy Program, where the Bureau of Fiscal Service reduces the payment by up to 15 percent, or the exact amount owed if less.¹² Vendor and contractor payments to the federal government can be taken at 100 percent, and Medicare provider payments face a 100 percent levy under a 2015 change.¹ Wage earners with a regular paycheck are handled through Form 668-W and the Publication 1494 tables.

Records to Keep, and What to Do if You Change Jobs

After you submit the Statement of Exemptions or set up an alternative arrangement, changes to your payroll typically take one to two pay cycles to show up. Keep a copy of everything: the completed exemption statement, any Form 2159 agreement, your Form 12153 request, and fax confirmations or certified mail receipts. If the IRS applies a payment to the wrong tax year or fails to credit a paycheck deduction, those records are the fastest way to fix it.

A payroll deduction agreement does not travel with you to a new employer. Contact the IRS before or immediately after switching jobs to arrange continued payments. A lapse can revive more aggressive collection, including a new Form 668-W served on your next employer.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6331 – Levy and Distraint
2
Internal Revenue Service. What if I Get a Levy Against One of My Employees, Vendors, Customers or Other Third Parties?
3
Internal Revenue Service. IRM 5.11.5 – Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income
4
Internal Revenue Service. Information About Wage Levies
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6334 – Property Exempt From Levy
6
Internal Revenue Service. IRM 5.14.10 – Payroll Deduction Agreements and Direct Debit Installment Agreements
7
Internal Revenue Service. Form 2159 – Payroll Deduction Agreement
8
Internal Revenue Service. Collection Due Process (CDP) FAQs
9
Internal Revenue Service. Form 12153 – Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing
10
Internal Revenue Service. How Do I Get a Levy Released?
11
Internal Revenue Service. Form 433-A – Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals
12
Internal Revenue Service. Federal Payment Levy Program