The APA wrote to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, Esq., in October, to request that the IRS enhance its electronic communications to create capabilities for the electronic receipt of federal tax levies on employee wages and for employers to remit wage levy payments electronically.
This is not the first time APA has asked about electronic management of federal levies, but the ongoing challenges were highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many employers and their payroll departments established new protocols under COVID-19 for employees to work from home if tasks were not dependent on the employees’ physical presence at an employer’s place of business.
The problem is that the management of federal tax levies and employee withholding requires delivery by the IRS of a paper Form 668-W, Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income, to a physical mailing address and payment of the amounts withheld by employers on paper checks mailed to the IRS. This process requires payroll professionals to travel to their employer’s physical office to obtain levy documents and process payments, despite stay-at-home orders.
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Alice P. Jacobsohn, Esq., is Director of Government Relations for APA.