IRS Wage Levy Calculator: What 2026 Lets You Keep
An IRS wage levy does not take a percentage of your paycheck. It works in reverse: Publication 1494 sets an amount that is exempt, your employer pays you that, and the IRS gets everything else, every payday, until the levy releases. This calculator computes your 2026 exempt amount from the official tables, and the full tables are below it.
Why this is worse than a normal garnishment
Ordinary creditor garnishments are capped by the federal CCPA at a percentage of disposable pay, generally up to 25 percent (our garnishment calculator covers that math). Federal tax levies are exempt from those caps. The IRS instead protects a flat amount tied to your standard deduction and dependents; on a $1,500 weekly paycheck, a single filer with no dependents keeps $309.62 and the levy takes the other $1,190.38, roughly 79 percent. The levy is continuous, attaching to every paycheck until released.
The 2026 exempt amounts, from Publication 1494
Main table: exempt amount by filing status, pay period, and dependents claimed. Single and married filing separate use identical amounts.
| Single / MFS | 0 deps | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Each extra |
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| Married filing joint | 0 deps | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Each extra |
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| Head of household | 0 deps | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Each extra |
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Taxpayers 65 or older or blind add an additional exempt amount per box checked on the statement: for 2026, $39.42 weekly (single or head of household) or $31.73 weekly (other statuses) per instance, scaled to your pay period.
Getting the levy released
The exempt amount is survival math, not a solution; the levy runs until the underlying balance is resolved. The release paths are the standard ones: full payment, an installment agreement, currently not collectible hardship status, or an offer in compromise, and the IRS must release a levy that creates economic hardship. If the levy arrived with appeal rights you have not used, the letters that preceded it, decoded in our notice decoder, explain the Collection Due Process window.
Sources: IRS Publication 1494 (Rev. 12-2025, for 2026); IRS: information about wage levies; IRM 5.11.5. Tables update each December.
Educational estimate, not tax or legal advice. Your employer computes the actual exempt amount from the statement you file with Form 668-W; special rules can apply (existing garnishments, child support, state levies). ClearChoiceRadar is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency.