Opening a letter from the IRS labeled “Notice of Intent to Levy” is enough to make anyone’s heart skip a beat. Wage garnishments, bank levies, and asset seizures immediately come to mind.
But here’s the critical truth most taxpayers don’t realize:
A Notice of Intent to Levy is not a seizure; it’s a countdown.
And if you act quickly, you can often stop IRS collections before they start.
A Notice of Intent to Levy (often issued as Letter 1058 or LT11) is the IRS’s formal warning that it intends to seize your property to satisfy unpaid tax debt.
Under federal law, the IRS generally cannot levy your assets until it:
This requirement is codified in:
Internal Revenue Code § 6330 — Notice and Opportunity for Hearing Before Levy
This notice triggers one of the most powerful taxpayer protections available.
Once the Notice of Intent to Levy is issued, you have 30 days from the notice date to request a Collection Due Process (CDP) Hearing.
You do this by filing:
IRS Form 12153 — Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing
If filed timely, the law requires the IRS to:
✔️ Suspend most collection actions
✔️ Halt bank levies
✔️ Stop wage garnishments
✔️ Pause asset seizures
while your case is reviewed by the IRS Independent Office of Appeals.
Authority:
IRC § 6330(e)(1) — Suspension of collections during CDP hearing.
If no action is taken, the IRS can levy:
Authority:
You may qualify for: