6.5.1 Property Subject to Seizure

The IRS may seize property or income through the levy process once proper notice is given. A levy reaches every species of property owned by the taxpayer unless exempted by federal law.1 Essentially, the IRS steps into the taxpayer’s shoes and can reach the taxpayer’s interest in the property. The IRS will seize tax refunds and apply them to prior tax debt. Homes and vested retirement accounts are not exempt from seizure. Unemployment benefits, worker’s compensation, a modest amount of wages, furniture, household effects, and tools of a trade are exempt from seizure.2

• 1Drye v. United States, 528 U.S. 49 (1999).
• 2I.R.C. § 6334; 26 C.F.R. § 301.6334-1.