Under U.S. federal tax law, a garnishment by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a form of administrative levy. In the case of an IRS levy, no court order is required; Or IRC more formally, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Only a few requirements must be met before the IRS starts a wage garnishment: The IRS must have assessed the tax and must have sent a written Notice and Demand for Payment;
The taxpayer must have neglected or refused to pay the tax within the time prescribed in the notice; and, The IRS must have sent a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to A Hearing (levy notice) at least 30 days before the levy. The taxpayer does not need to actually receive the notice for the notice to be effective. Many taxpayers never actually receive the final notice. Those taxpayers may not realize they are in danger of receiving a levy until their wages are actually garnished. The infernal Revenue Service needs to do its JOB!