Bank Levy
When the IRS freezes and seizes funds in your bank account to pay a tax debt.
Full Definition
A bank levy is when the IRS contacts your bank and instructs them to freeze your account and send the funds to the IRS. Once a bank levy is issued, your bank must hold the funds for 21 days before sending them to the IRS. The IRS states the waiting period is intended to allow you time to contact it and arrange to pay the tax, or to notify it of errors in the levy. During this time, you cannot access the levied funds. The IRS states that NORMALLY the levy does not affect funds you add to your bank account after the date of the levy. Read that word: it is the IRS's hedge, not ours, and it is the practical difference from a wage levy, which is continuous. Do not treat a deposit made after the levy date as certainly safe.
What to do next
Check the notice or letter you actually received: the dates and instructions printed on it govern, not this page. The IRS page linked in Sources is the authority on the rule itself.
Sources
- Information about bank levies — Internal Revenue Service, retrieved 2026-08-20
Last reviewed 2026-08-20 by Tax Resolution Clarity editorial.
Sourced to primary IRS materials and editorially reviewed. Not reviewed by a tax professional. Not tax advice.
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Related Terms
Where to go next
The IRS publishes the rules this page describes. Your own notice governs your dates.