You checked your bank account this morning and the money is gone. Or your bank called to tell you your account has been frozen. Or you tried to use your debit card and it was declined — not because you’re out of money, but because the IRS levied your bank account.

If this has happened to you, you are not alone. And you are not out of options.

But you need to move fast.

What Just Happened – And Why

An IRS bank levy is one of the most powerful collection tools the federal government has. When the IRS determines that you owe a tax debt and have not made arrangements to pay it, they can issue a levy to your bank — a legal order requiring the bank to freeze and turn over the funds in your account.

Your bank does not have a choice. They are legally required to comply.

Here is what most people don’t realize: the IRS doesn’t just show up one day and take your money without warning. Before they can issue a bank levy, they are required by law to send you a series of notices, including:

• A Notice and Demand for Payment
• A Notice of Intent to Levy
• A Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing (Letter 1058 or LT11)

That final notice is the critical one. Once it is sent, the IRS can move forward with collection action — including a bank levy — if you do not respond.

The problem is that many people miss these notices. They go to an old address. They get buried in a pile of mail. They arrive during an already stressful time and get set aside. By the time the levy hits, the notice process may have been completed months ago.

If your account has been levied, the time for receiving notices has passed. What matters right now is what you do next.

The 21-Day Window — This Is Everything

Here is the single most important thing you need to know about an IRS bank levy:

Your bank is required to hold your frozen funds for 21 calendar days before sending them to the IRS.

That 21-day period is not a formality. It is a legal window specifically designed to give you — and your attorney — time to act.

During those 21 days, it may be possible to:

• Get the levy released by entering into an approved installment agreement or other resolution with the IRS
• Demonstrate financial hardship — if the levy is preventing you from meeting basic living expenses, the IRS is required by law to consider releasing it
• Challenge the levy if there are procedural errors, if the statute of limitations on collection has expired, or if the debt itself is disputed
• Negotiate a resolution that addresses the underlying tax debt and stops further collection action

Once the 21 days expire and your money is sent to the IRS, getting it back becomes extremely difficult. It is not impossible — but your options narrow dramatically.

This is why the 21-day window is not something to sleep on.

What You Should Do Right Now

Step 1: Don’t panic — but don’t wait either.

An IRS bank levy feels like the floor has dropped out from under you. That reaction is completely understandable. But panic leads to inaction, and inaction is the worst thing you can do right now. Take a breath. Then pick up the phone.

Step 2: Find out exactly when the levy was issued.

The 21-day clock starts from the date the bank received the levy — not the date you found out about it. Call your bank today to find out the exact date the levy was issued. That tells you how many days you have left.

Step 3: Do not call the IRS yourself.

This is important. Anything you say to an IRS agent can be used to build their collection case against you. You may inadvertently provide information that complicates your situation or closes off options you didn’t know you had. Before you speak to the IRS about anything, speak to a tax attorney.

Step 4: Call a tax attorney immediately.

The 21-day window is real, but it moves fast. An experienced tax attorney can contact the IRS on your behalf, assess your situation, identify which resolution options are available to you, and move quickly to get the levy released before your money is gone.

What Happens After the 21 Days?

If the levy is not released within 21 days, your bank will send the frozen funds to the IRS and apply them to your outstanding balance.

This does not end the problem — it just changes the shape of it. The IRS may issue additional levies on future deposits to your account, or move on to other collection actions including wage garnishment or property seizure.

The underlying tax debt still exists. Until that debt is resolved — through an installment agreement, an offer in compromise, a currently not collectible determination, or another approved remedy — the IRS can continue to pursue you.

The bank levy is often a wake-up call. The right response is to use it as a turning point: get representation, get a resolution, and get the IRS out of your life.

What About the Rest of My Money?

A bank levy only captures the funds in your account on the date the levy is issued. It is not a continuous hold on future deposits — at least not from that single levy.

However, the IRS can and often does issue new levies. If you continue to make deposits into a levied account without resolving the underlying debt, a new levy can hit those funds as well.

Your attorney can advise you on how to protect yourself going forward while a resolution is being negotiated.

Common Situations We See in Tucson

Over 25 years of handling IRS tax cases in Tucson and Southern Arizona, we have seen every version of this situation. A few of the most common:

• The retirement account hit — a client finds out the IRS has levied a savings or retirement account they had forgotten the IRS even knew about
• The joint account problem — a spouse who doesn’t even owe the debt finds their shared account frozen
• The business account levy — a business owner’s operating account is frozen, making it impossible to make payroll or pay vendors
• The “I thought we had a deal” situation — a client had been making payments but fell behind, and the IRS levied without warning

Each of these situations has solutions. None of them is hopeless. But all of them require fast, experienced action.

Why a Trial Attorney Background Matters Here

Not all tax attorneys are the same.

Sheldon Lazarow spent decades as a criminal defense attorney and then a civil trial attorney before dedicating a substantial part of his practice to IRS tax debt resolution. That background matters — not just in court, but at the negotiating table.

When Mr. Lazarow contacts the IRS on your behalf, he is not asking politely and hoping for the best. He is negotiating from a position of legal knowledge, procedural experience, and a documented history of not backing down. The IRS deals with attorneys every day. They know the difference between someone who will take whatever they offer and someone who will fight.

Mr. Lazarow fights.

In 25 years of representing clients before the IRS, he has never allowed the IRS to take a single penny from a client after they hired him. He cannot guarantee that result in your case — no honest attorney can make that promise. But he can guarantee that he will pursue every available option on your behalf, for as long as it takes, until you have the best possible outcome.

Serving Tucson and All of Southern Arizona

The Lazarow Law Firm, P.L.C. represents clients facing IRS bank levies throughout:

Tucson • Oro Valley • Marana • Green Valley • Sierra Vista • Bisbee • Benson • Douglas • Nogales • Florence and all surrounding communities in Pima, Cochise, Santa Cruz, and Pinal counties.

Call Today — The Clock Is Running

If the IRS has levied your bank account, every day counts. The consultation is free, and the conversation could be the difference between getting your money back and losing it permanently.

📞 Call Sheldon Lazarow: (520) 623-5856

Or fill out the contact form on this website and we will respond promptly.

You have 21 days. Use them.

Sheldon Lazarow is a Tucson, Arizona tax attorney with 50 years of legal experience, including 25 years of IRS tax debt resolution. He is licensed to practice before the IRS, all Arizona and California state and federal courts, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Tax Court. The Lazarow Law Firm, P.L.C. is located at 25 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85705.