IRS Levies
IRS Taking 15 Percent of Social Security: Why It Happens and How to Stop It (2025)
The short answer: if the IRS is taking 15 percent of your Social Security, it's collecting back federal taxes through the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) — an automated levy of up to 15% of each monthly benefit. It only starts after the IRS sent earlier notices and a final notice with appeal rights. You can stop it by resolving the debt or proving hardship.
⏱ Your deadline: if you have a Final Notice of Intent to Levy (LT11, Letter 1058, or CP90) or a CP91 / CP298 Social Security levy notice, you generally have 30 days from the notice date to request a Collection Due Process hearing — which pauses the levy. After that, the 15% can come out of your very next check, and interest keeps accruing.
Why the IRS is taking 15 percent of your Social Security
You owe back federal taxes, and the IRS is collecting them straight from your benefit. The tool it uses is the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP), an automated system that matches federal payments — including Social Security retirement and disability — against unpaid tax debts. When there's a match, it pulls up to 15% of each monthly check until the debt is paid or the levy is released.
This is not random and it's not new debt. It's the last step in a long collection process. By the time 15% disappears from your Social Security, the IRS has usually sent several notices over many months: a first bill, reminder notices, and a final notice with your appeal rights. The check that comes up short is the system catching up — not the start of the story.
One important note: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is exempt from this levy. So are certain other benefits. The 15% FPLP levy generally applies to Social Security retirement and disability (SSDI) benefits, not SSI.
What the 15% levy actually looks like in dollars
The math is simple, which is part of what makes it sting. Say your monthly Social Security benefit is $2,000. Under the FPLP, the IRS can take 15% — that's $300 — leaving you $1,700 that month. It repeats every month until the debt is resolved.
Over a year, that's $3,600 gone from a fixed income. For many retirees and people on disability, losing $300 a month means choosing between groceries, medicine, and the electric bill. That's exactly why hardship relief exists — and why acting fast matters.
What happens if you do nothing
The FPLP doesn't stop on its own, and it doesn't forget. Here's the sequence that leads up to the levy — and what keeps happening if you ignore it:
- Balance-due notices (CP14, CP501, CP503) — the IRS bills you and the balance grows monthly with penalties and interest.
- Final Notice of Intent to Levy (CP90, LT11, or Letter 1058) — gives you 30 days to request a hearing before the IRS can levy.
- CP91 / CP298 — the notice specific to your Social Security: a final warning that the IRS intends to take up to 15% of your benefit.
- The 15% levy begins — and continues every month. Meanwhile, the IRS can still file a tax lien, take your tax refund, and levy bank accounts for the same debt.
In 2025 the automated nature of this matters more than ever. IRS staffing is stretched thin, but the FPLP is run by a computer match, not a person. The levy keeps pulling 15% every month whether or not a human ever reviews your file. Waiting for someone to notice your hardship is not a plan.
How to stop the IRS from taking 15% of your Social Security
The notice makes it feel like pay-or-else. In reality you have several ways to stop the levy, and which one fits depends on your finances and how much you owe:
- Request a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing — if you're still within 30 days of a final notice, filing Form 12153 for a CDP hearing generally pauses the levy and gives you a forum to propose an alternative.
- Set up an installment agreement — a monthly payment plan you can afford. Once it's in place, the IRS releases the levy. For balances under about $50,000, a streamlined plan is often available without detailed financial disclosure.
- Request Currently Not Collectible (CNC) status — if paying anything would leave you unable to cover basic living costs, the IRS can pause collection entirely. Learn how Currently Not Collectible status works. The debt stays, but the 15% stops.
- Ask for a hardship levy release — if the levy is already taking money you need for rent, food, or medicine, you can request an emergency release. Here's how an emergency levy release for hardship works.
- Offer in Compromise — settling for less than the full balance. It's real, but only when your income and assets genuinely can't cover the debt. Anyone promising to settle your debt for "pennies on the dollar" before reviewing your finances is selling you something, not telling you the truth.
- Penalty relief — first-time abatement or reasonable-cause relief may shrink the balance, which can make a payment plan more affordable.
How to respond, step by step
- Read the notice and note the date. If it's a CP90, LT11, Letter 1058, or CP91/CP298, find your 30-day deadline. The IRS explains the Social Security version in Understanding your CP91 notice.
- Confirm the debt is yours and correct. Log into your IRS online account to see the balance, the tax years, and whether any returns are unfiled. Scams imitate these notices — a real one comes by postal mail, and payment goes only to the U.S. Treasury or through IRS.gov.
- Decide which option fits. If you can make a modest monthly payment, an installment agreement stops the levy. If you can't afford anything, push for CNC status or a hardship release.
- Act before the next check. Call the number on the notice, or have someone do it for you. Setting up a resolution before the levy posts is far easier than clawing money back afterward.
- If money is already being taken and you can't survive it, contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service — an independent part of the IRS that helps when a levy causes immediate financial hardship.
The IRS is taking part of your Social Security?
Send us a photo of your notice. An experienced tax professional will tell you exactly why this is happening and what can stop it — free, confidential, and without pressure. The sooner you call, the more options you have.
Social Security levy questions, answered
Why is the IRS taking 15 percent of my Social Security?
You owe back federal taxes and the IRS is collecting them through the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP), an automated system that takes up to 15% of each monthly Social Security benefit. It only starts after the IRS has sent earlier notices, including a final notice with appeal rights, and you didn't resolve the debt.
How do I stop the IRS from taking 15% of my Social Security?
Call the IRS and resolve the debt: set up an installment agreement, request Currently Not Collectible status if the levy creates hardship, or pay the balance. If the 15% levy leaves you unable to cover basic living expenses, you can request a hardship levy release. Acting before the levy starts is far easier than reversing it after.
Can the IRS take 100% of my Social Security?
Under the automated Federal Payment Levy Program, the IRS takes up to 15% of your monthly Social Security benefit. However, a manual levy issued by a revenue officer can sometimes reach more than 15% on certain benefits. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and some other benefits are exempt from levy entirely.
Does the IRS warn you before taking Social Security?
Yes. The IRS must send a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing, and a CP91 or CP298 notice specific to Social Security, before the 15% levy begins. You generally have 30 days from the final notice to request a Collection Due Process hearing, which pauses the levy.
Can I get back the Social Security the IRS already took?
Sometimes. If the levy was issued in error, created proven financial hardship, or you had a pending resolution the IRS should have honored, you can request a levy release and, in some cases, a return of levied funds. You must act quickly and document the hardship — refunds of seized money are not automatic.
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.