Seizure of Assets II

Even if the IRS has identified a “won’t pay” situation, there are a number of steps and procedures that must be followed in order to legally and successfully carry out an IRS seizure. Here are some of the pre-seizure considerations:

  1. Verification of the liability. This includes notifying the taxpayer of the liability and making sure he/she understands why the amount is owed.
  2. Consideration of alternative collection methods. Alternative collection methods include Installment Agreement, Offer in Compromise, Levy, etc. Technically the IRS does not need to attempt these methods, just consider them. However, it is standard practice to actually test them out to see if the liability can be satisfied first without resorting to seizure.
  3. Cost / Benefit analysis. The seizure process is an administrative nightmare; the revenue officer must consider the red tape, time investment, and costs of seizure to see if seizure is really in the government’s best interest.
  4. Prohibited seizures. There are a number of scenarios in which the Revenue Code prohibits seizure, such as a seizure conducted on the day the taxpayer has to appear in response to a summons, or seizure of property with insufficient equity to apply to the back tax liability.
IRM 5.10.1

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