Pomona IRS Tax Debt Lawyer
An IRS notice that threatens a levy on your paycheck or bank account does not wait for you to figure out your options, and for many Pomona households the first letter is only the beginning of a long chain of collection steps. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles IRS tax debt, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and debt settlement for people in Pomona and across Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County.
Working with a Pomona IRS tax debt lawyer starts with sorting out what kind of tax problem you actually have. A balance that has just been assessed is treated differently from one that has aged for several years, and a wage earner with a payroll-deducted balance faces different choices than a self-employed contractor who skipped quarterly payments. Some older income tax debt can be wiped out in bankruptcy if it meets specific timing rules, while other tax debt must be paid in full but can be spread over time. Which category you fall into drives nearly every decision that follows.
Most IRS collection cases move in a recognizable sequence: a bill, then reminder notices, then a final notice of intent to levy, and only then the seizure of wages or bank funds. Each stage offers different leverage, and the earlier you bring in an attorney, the more of those options remain open. The sections below walk through how these cases typically unfold and what you can do at each point.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for IRS Tax Debt Relief
Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families resolve debt, and the firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification, a distinction held by a small fraction of attorneys nationwide. Together the firm’s attorneys bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience. The firm handles Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, wage garnishment, creditor lawsuits, student loan debt, second mortgage settlements, loan modification, small business debt solutions, and IRS tax debt, and serves clients throughout Southern California, including Pomona and the surrounding eastern San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire communities.
Raj Wadhwani, a partner and Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy, is a Southwestern Law School graduate who helped pilot the Best Case Bankruptcy software in 1998 and was the first attorney to file a bankruptcy case electronically in the Central District of California. Greg Shanfeld, also a partner and Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy, earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. That depth matters for tax debt because the best answer is often found where bankruptcy law and tax collection overlap, and the firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
Clients get direct access to an attorney from the first call, a free consultation, and the option to handle everything by phone, email, video, or online chat, including 100% virtual consultations. When a garnishment or levy is days away, the firm acts quickly. Because the firm offers bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy solutions, the recommendation is built around your income, property, and goals rather than around the only service on offer.
Common Tax Debt Situations We Handle for Pomona Clients
- Unfiled or Late Returns: When years go by without a return, the IRS may file a substitute return on your behalf that ignores deductions and dependents, producing an inflated balance. Filing accurate returns is usually the first step toward fixing the number before any strategy is chosen.
- Self-Employment and Gig Income: Contractors, drivers, and small business owners often owe on income that had no withholding. Quarterly estimated payments get missed during slow months, and the balance compounds with penalties and interest.
- Wage Levies: After a final notice, the IRS can instruct your employer to send a large share of each paycheck to the government. Unlike an ordinary creditor judgment, an IRS levy is not subject to the percentage cap that limits private wage garnishment, which is why it can cripple a household budget so quickly.
- Bank Account Levies: A levy can freeze the funds in your account. The automatic deposit account protection that applies to ordinary creditor levies does not extend to debts owed to the government, so you cannot count on it here.
- Older Income Tax Balances: Certain income tax debts that are old enough, and that meet the return-filing and assessment timing rules, may be dischargeable in Chapter 7 or reorganized in Chapter 13. This is a fact-specific review that depends on dates in your IRS transcripts.
- Priority Tax Debt in Chapter 13: Recent tax debt that cannot be discharged can be folded into a three to five year repayment plan, which stops collection while you pay it off in manageable installments.
- Combined Tax and Consumer Debt: Many clients owe the IRS while also carrying credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans. Wiping out the unsecured debt in Chapter 7 can free up income to deal with a tax balance that survives.
- Business Owners With Personal Exposure: Owners of small businesses sometimes face tax debt tied to the business alongside personal liability, and the firm handles small business bankruptcy and business debt solutions.
What to Do When the IRS Is Collecting in Pomona
Start by gathering every notice you have received and putting them in date order. The notice type and the deadline printed on it tell an attorney exactly where you are in the collection sequence. A final notice of intent to levy carries a response window, and missing it forfeits the chance to request a collection due process hearing, so do not set these letters aside hoping the problem resolves itself. Pull together your recent pay stubs, your last few years of returns if you have them, and a list of your monthly expenses and debts, since every possible resolution, from an installment plan to bankruptcy, begins with an honest picture of what you earn and owe.
Next, speak with an attorney before you call the IRS yourself. Statements made to a revenue officer can limit your options later, and a phone call that seems harmless can lock you into a payment you cannot sustain. A consultation with Wadhwani & Shanfeld will review the balance, the years involved, and whether bankruptcy, a payment arrangement, or negotiation makes the most sense. If bankruptcy is the right fit, filing triggers the automatic stay, which halts most collection activity the moment the petition is filed. That includes wage and bank levies, though how the stay interacts with the tax debt itself depends on the type and age of the tax.
If you decide to file, your case will be assigned based on your street address, not a P.O. box. Pomona sits in Los Angeles County, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California decides which of its divisions handles your zip code, which the firm confirms before filing. Creditor lawsuits over other debts you owe, such as credit cards, are heard in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which operates a courthouse in Pomona. If you have been served in one of those suits, the response deadline runs on its own clock separate from the IRS, so tell your attorney about every legal paper you have received.
The most common mistakes are ignoring notices, paying one creditor aggressively while the IRS balance grows, withdrawing from a retirement account to pay taxes (which can create a new tax bill and strip away protected assets), and signing up with a settlement company that promises to cut your tax debt without reviewing your transcripts. Bring the paperwork to a lawyer first.
How Bankruptcy and Tax Debt Fit Together
Tax debt is not treated like a credit card balance in bankruptcy. Whether an income tax debt can be discharged depends on how old the underlying return is, when the return was filed, and when the IRS assessed the tax. A tax debt that does not meet those timing rules is typically a priority debt that survives Chapter 7 but can be repaid through a Chapter 13 plan. Chapter 13 also halts collection and, once a plan is confirmed, binds the creditors to its terms, so you pay the priority tax portion over time without the threat of a new levy.
Exemptions matter here too. California does not use the federal exemption list. Filers must choose between two state systems, one with a substantial homestead protection for homeowners and another with a flexible wildcard better suited to renters, and the choice applies to the entire case. To use California’s exemptions you must have lived in the state long enough to qualify under the residency rule. Because tax liens and levies can reach property, selecting the right exemption system and understanding what is protected is one of the most consequential decisions in a case that includes tax debt.
The firm also explains the realistic alternatives. Some taxpayers do better with an installment arrangement, and others may qualify for a negotiated resolution. The attorney’s job is to compare those paths against bankruptcy using your actual numbers, and to tell you plainly when bankruptcy is not the best answer.
Pomona IRS Tax Debt Questions Answered
Can the IRS take my wages without going to court?
Yes. Unlike a private creditor, the IRS does not need a court judgment to levy your wages or bank account. It must first send required notices, including a final notice of intent to levy, but after that process runs its course it can act administratively.
Can I stop an IRS levy by filing bankruptcy?
Filing a bankruptcy petition triggers the automatic stay, which halts most collection activity right away, including levies. How long the protection lasts and what happens to the tax itself depends on the chapter you file and whether the debt is dischargeable.
Can income taxes be wiped out in Chapter 7?
Some older income tax debts can be, if they satisfy specific timing rules tied to the return due date, the filing date, and the assessment date. Many tax debts do not qualify, which is why a review of your IRS records comes before any decision.
What happens to tax debt that cannot be discharged?
Chapter 13 can reorganize it into a monthly plan lasting three to five years. You stay protected from collection while you make payments, and recent priority tax debt is paid through the plan.
Does the bank account protection that applies to ordinary creditors protect me from an IRS levy?
No. The automatic deposit account protection under California law does not apply to debts owed to the government, so funds in your account can be exposed to an IRS levy even when they would be shielded from a credit card collector.
Is there a limit on how much of my paycheck the IRS can take?
The percentage cap that applies to ordinary creditor garnishment does not apply to IRS levies. The IRS leaves you a basic exempt amount based on filing status and dependents, but the remainder can be taken, which is why levies are so disruptive.
Will my employer find out about an IRS levy?
If the IRS levies your wages, it sends the levy to your employer, so yes. California law bars an employer from firing you because your wages are garnished for a single judgment, and filing bankruptcy does not by itself allow an employer to fire you either.
I have not filed returns for several years. Should I file before talking to a lawyer?
Speak with an attorney first. The way and the order in which you file can affect whether older balances remain dischargeable, so planning the sequence is worth doing before you submit anything.
How long does bankruptcy take if I have tax debt?
Most Chapter 7 cases are completed in roughly four months. A Chapter 13 plan runs three to five years because you are repaying debt over time, including any priority tax portion.
Do I have to come in person to hire a Pomona IRS tax debt attorney?
No. The firm handles cases entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, and offers 100% virtual consultations. In-person meetings are available if you prefer them.
Can a bankruptcy petition preparer or notary handle a tax-related filing for me?
A petition preparer can type information into forms but cannot give legal advice, choose exemptions, or represent you if the IRS or a trustee raises an issue. With tax debt, where timing rules decide what is dischargeable, mistakes can cost you property or your discharge.
Serving Pomona and Surrounding Communities With Tax Debt Representation
Wadhwani & Shanfeld represents clients in Pomona and throughout Los Angeles County, with a strong presence across the eastern San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire. From Pomona the work extends to Claremont, Montclair, Chino, Chino Hills, Glendora, and West Covina, and east into Ontario, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, and San Bernardino. The firm also serves Riverside and the Coachella Valley.
Across the rest of Los Angeles County, the firm helps clients in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Gardena, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park. In the San Fernando Valley and the Westside, it serves Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, Sylmar, Hollywood, and Santa Monica. The firm also serves Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton, along with Orange County cities including Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel.
Talk to a Pomona IRS Tax Debt Attorney Today
You do not need to wait for a levy to hit your paycheck before getting answers. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney about your IRS balance, what options apply, and whether bankruptcy or another solution gives you the best path forward. A Pomona IRS tax debt attorney at the firm will review your situation honestly and tell you what makes sense, whether you meet in person or handle everything remotely.
