Tag Archive for Federal Payment Levy Program

The Federal Payment Levy Program

Venar Ayar- Federal Payment Levy Program
What is the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP)?

The Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) gives the IRS the right to seize a portion of certain payments you receive from the government. If you are a federal employee, a government contractor, or receiving Social Security benefits, your payments could be offset under the FPLP.

Payments Covered By The FPLP

Any of the following payments can be offset under the FPLP:

  • Federal employee salaries
  • Federal employee retirement annuities
  • Certain Social Security benefits
  • Railroad retirement benefits
  • Military retirement payments
  • Medicare provider and supplier payments
  • Federal payments made to you as a contractor or vendor doing business with the government

Only Social Security retirement and survivors’ benefits are subject to the FPLP, not disability benefits or Supplement Security Income.

How The Levy Works

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Written by | Posted in Federal Payment Levy Program • Venar Ayar

Federal Payment Levy Program: Harming Veterans (Part II)

In my previous blog, I described the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) and outlined my general concerns about the IRS’s implementation of the “Low Income Filter” (LIF) and lack of person-to-person assistance. In this blog post, I discuss my concerns about the IRS’s decision to extend the FPLP to military pensioners.  The IRS based its decision to include military retirement payments as an additional payment stream in the FPLP on figures contained in a 2015 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) audit report (Most Federal Employee/Retiree Delinquency Initiative Cases Are Resolved with the Collection of Revenue; However, Some Program Improvements Can Be Made, Ref. No. 2015-30-051 – hereinafter, the “TIGTA report”). TIGTA reported that the IRS planned to expand the use of the FPLP to military retirement payments to increase revenue, but utilize the low-income filter (LIF) to exclude military retirees with incomes below the 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, similar to the way it treats taxpayers receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) benefit payments. The IRS, however, decided not to implement the LIF for military retirees. Read More

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Is Social Security Taxable?

A classic case of the government giveth and the government taketh away.

One of the most common web-search phrases entered is this: “Is social security taxable”? The answer: It all depends on your income and filing status. If you file taxes as an individual and your combined income — that’s your adjusted gross income plus one half of your annual Social Security benefit — is less than $25,000, you won’t pay federal income taxes on your benefits.

But once you get past that $25,000 mark, that’s when you start seeing taxes. People who earn between $25,000 and $34,000 could have up to half of their benefits taxed, and people Read More

Written by | Posted in Individual • IRS