IRS Data Study
How Many IRS Levies Per Year? (2026 Data Study)
The short answer: if you're asking how many IRS levies per year, the latest figure is about 339,137 levies served on third parties such as banks and employers in fiscal year 2025, according to the IRS Data Book, Table 4-1. That's up from roughly 313,792 in fiscal year 2024.
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Key findings
- The IRS served about 339,137 notices of levy on third parties — banks, employers, and other payers — in fiscal year 2025.
- That's up from about 313,792 levies in fiscal year 2024, an increase of roughly 25,000 levies, or about 8%, year over year.
- The IRS also filed about 214,099 Notices of Federal Tax Lien in fiscal year 2025 — a separate enforcement tool from a levy.
- A levy is the IRS's most common hard-enforcement action: in FY2025 it served roughly 58% more levies than liens it filed.
- Levies reach you through someone else. The IRS sends the notice to your bank or employer, who is legally required to turn over your funds or part of your wages.
IRS levy and lien figures: FY2024 vs. FY2025
| Metric (IRS Data Book, Table 4-1) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Notices of levy served on third parties (banks, employers), FY2024 | ~313,792 |
| Notices of levy served on third parties (banks, employers), FY2025 | ~339,137 (about +8%) |
| Notices of Federal Tax Lien filed, FY2025 | ~214,099 |
What this means in plain English
A levy is not a warning letter. It's the IRS reaching into a third party — your bank or your employer — and taking money to pay a tax debt. A bank levy freezes the funds in your account and, after a 21-day hold, sends them to the IRS. A wage levy (also called wage garnishment) tells your employer to send a chunk of every paycheck to the IRS until the debt is paid or the levy is released.
The FY2025 numbers tell a clear story: the IRS issued well over a third of a million levies in a single year, and the count went up from the year before. That matters because much of the IRS collection machine runs on automation. Notices and levies keep moving through the system on a schedule whether or not a person is watching your file.
The levy total being far higher than the lien total reflects how these tools differ. A lien is a legal claim that protects the government's interest in your property — it can wreck your credit and complicate a home sale, but it doesn't take cash by itself. A levy actually seizes money. If you owe back taxes and ignore the notices, a levy is the most likely way the IRS turns your debt into a real, felt loss.
The encouraging part: a levy almost never arrives without warning. Federal law requires the IRS to send a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing before most levies. That notice is your window to act — and acting early gives you the most options.
The Final Notice and your appeal rights
Before the IRS can levy your bank account or wages in most cases, it must send a Final Notice of Intent to Levy — usually Letter LT11 or Letter 1058. From the date of that notice, you generally have 30 days to request a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing. Filing a timely CDP request is one of the strongest moves available because it pauses levy action while an Appeals officer reviews your case.
You can read more about how to file in our guide to the IRS CDP hearing request letter, and the IRS explains the process on its collection and levy pages. The national Taxpayer Advocate Service can also help when a levy is causing real hardship.
How to stop or release a levy
If a levy has already hit — or a Final Notice just landed — you are not out of options. A levy can be released or stopped several ways, depending on your finances:
- Pay the balance in full — the levy is released once the debt is satisfied.
- Set up an installment agreement — a monthly payment plan generally stops new levy action. For balances under about $50,000, a streamlined plan can often be set up without detailed financial disclosure.
- Qualify for Currently Not Collectible status — if paying anything would create genuine hardship, the IRS can pause collection and release the levy.
- Prove the levy creates a financial hardship — if it leaves you unable to cover basic living expenses, the IRS can release it.
- File a timely Collection Due Process appeal — a CDP request after a Final Notice pauses the levy while Appeals reviews your case.
If wages are being garnished, our IRS wage garnishment calculator can help you estimate how much of your paycheck the IRS can take. For direct help, see bank levy release and wage garnishment release.
Methodology & source
All figures in this study come directly from the IRS Data Book, Table 4-1 (Delinquent Collection Activities). We report the count of notices of levy served on third parties (such as banks and employers) and the number of Notices of Federal Tax Lien filed for fiscal year 2025, compared with fiscal year 2024 where the IRS publishes it. Counts are rounded for readability; percentage changes are calculated from the published figures. The IRS fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. We added no estimates or projections of our own.
Cite this study
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Clarity Tax Relief, "How Many IRS Levies Per Year? (2026 Data Study)." Data from the IRS Data Book FY2025, Table 4-1. How Many IRS Levies Per Year? (2026 Data Study)
Frequently asked questions
How many levies does the IRS issue per year?
In fiscal year 2025 the IRS served about 339,137 notices of levy on third parties such as banks and employers, according to the IRS Data Book, Table 4-1. That was up from about 313,792 levies in fiscal year 2024.
What is the difference between an IRS levy and a lien?
A levy actually takes your money or property — the IRS pulls funds from a bank account or garnishes a paycheck. A lien is a legal claim against your property that protects the government's interest but does not seize anything by itself. In fiscal year 2025 the IRS filed about 214,099 Notices of Federal Tax Lien, separate from the levies it served.
Can I stop or release an IRS levy?
Yes. A levy can be released or stopped by paying the balance, setting up an installment agreement, qualifying for Currently Not Collectible status, proving the levy creates a financial hardship, or filing a timely Collection Due Process appeal after a Final Notice of Intent to Levy. The right path depends on your individual finances.
How much warning does the IRS give before a levy?
Before most levies the IRS must send a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing (such as Letter LT11 or Letter 1058). You generally have 30 days from that notice to request a Collection Due Process hearing, which pauses the levy while your case is reviewed.
This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation. Eligibility for IRS programs depends on individual facts and circumstances; no outcome is guaranteed.