IRS Wage Levy Calculator 2026

IRS levy on wages

How an IRS wage levy works

A levy on wages is continuous. It takes effect when the levy is first made and stays in effect until it is released (IRC 6331(e)). Part of each paycheck goes to the IRS until you make other arrangements to pay, the tax you owe is paid, or the levy is released. The rest, the exempt amount, is paid to you.

An IRS levy is not an ordinary garnishment. The federal limit that caps most creditor garnishments at 25% of disposable earnings does not apply to any debt due for state or federal tax (15 U.S.C. 1673(b)). Instead, the IRS takes everything above a fixed exempt amount. For a single filer with no dependents who is paid every two weeks, the exempt amount in 2026 is $619.23, so a $2,000 take-home paycheck sends $1,380.77 to the IRS, about 69% of the check. Our wage garnishment limits calculator covers the percentage rules for consumer debts and child support.

How the exempt amount is figured

The weekly exempt amount is the standard deduction plus an amount for each dependent, divided by 52 (IRC 6334(d)). For 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and married people filing separately, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of household. The amount for each dependent is $5,300 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The IRS mails Publication 1494 with the levy to explain to your employer how to figure the amount exempt from levy, and its tables turn those yearly figures into an exempt amount for each pay period.

For a single filer, the 2026 base is $309.62 a week, $619.23 every two weeks, $670.83 twice a month or $1,341.67 a month. Each dependent adds $101.92 a week, $203.85 every two weeks, $220.83 twice a month or $441.67 a month. Publication 1494 walks through two examples: a single taxpayer paid weekly who claims three dependents has $615.38 exempt, and a married couple filing jointly, paid every two weeks with two dependents, has $1,646.16 exempt.

Amount exempt from levy per pay period in 2026. Source: IRS Publication 1494 (Rev. 12-2025), Table 1.

If you are 65 or older or blind, you can claim more. The 2026 additional standard deduction is $2,050 for each box if you are single or a head of household and $1,650 for each box under any other filing status, which Publication 1494 converts to, for example, $39.42 or $31.73 a week. The single filer with three dependents in the first example has $654.80 exempt after writing 1 for being over 65, and the married couple has $1,773.08 exempt after writing 2 because one spouse is over 65 and the other is blind.

Your statement of dependents and filing status

With the levy, your employer gives you a statement of dependents and filing status to fill in and return within three days. If you do not return it in time, your exempt amount is figured as if you were married filing separately with no dependents. That default is the smallest exempt amount in the table, and the calculator shows the levy under it so you can see what is at stake. A dependent here means a qualifying child or qualifying relative, and you cannot claim yourself.

If you have income from more than one source, the IRS may apply your exemptions to another source and levy 100% of the pay from a particular employer. Filing status also changes the result a lot, so see our guides on filing status and take-home pay and head of household qualification if you are unsure which status applies to you.

A worked example: $2,200 every two weeks

Take a single filer who claims one dependent, is paid every two weeks and brings home $2,200 per paycheck after taxes and existing deductions. The exempt amount is $619.23 plus $203.85 for the dependent, or $823.08. The employer sends the other $1,376.92 to the IRS each payday, which adds up to $35,799.92 over 26 paychecks. With a $12,000 balance, the levy would run for at least 9 paychecks, and longer once interest is added. If the same person never returned the statement, the exempt amount would drop to $619.23 and the IRS would take $1,580.77 from every check. These are the default figures in the calculator, so you can change one input at a time and watch the result move.

What counts as take-home pay

By IRS policy, a levy attaches only to your usual take-home pay. Taxes come out first, and you can generally keep the payroll deductions you already had when the levy was served. Voluntary deductions can be disallowed if they are so large that they defeat the levy. Our guide to voluntary and involuntary payroll deductions explains which is which.

Bonuses need care. For wage levy purposes, salary or wages include fees, commissions and bonuses. If a bonus is paid separately from your regular paycheck, the IRS receives the entire bonus, because the exempt amount is based on the time period in which your wages and bonus are paid.

Court-ordered child support gets its own protection. If a court ordered you to pay child support before your employer received the levy, the amount needed to pay it is exempt from the levy. If your employer did not include it, the IRS releases that amount when you contact it, but the same child cannot also be claimed as a dependent when figuring the exempt amount.

Getting a wage levy released

An IRS levy may be released if it is causing an immediate economic hardship or was issued in error. Paying the balance or making other arrangements to pay also ends the levy. Keep in mind that interest keeps building: the IRS charges interest on unpaid tax from the due date until the balance is paid in full, so the paycheck count in the calculator is the minimum time the levy would run, not a payoff date.