Among all the notices sent by the IRS, Notice LT11 is one of the most serious: it is the final warning before the agency moves ahead with the seizure of assets, wages and bank accounts. Receiving it means the clock has started ticking, and ignoring it or responding late can result in the IRS taking the money directly from your account or your paycheck.
What is Notice LT11
LT11 (also identified as Letter 1058) is the Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing. It is the notice with which the IRS informs you that, in the face of an unpaid tax debt and after other prior notices have been ignored, it intends to seize the taxpayer’s assets to collect what is owed.
Unlike a lien, which is only a legal claim on property, the seizure is the actual taking: the IRS can take money from bank accounts, withhold part of a salary, or take other assets. LT11 is the formal step that authorizes that process.
LT11 grants a 30-day period from the date of the notice to act.
IRS seizes everyone who did not respond to this notice
If the taxpayer lets the 30 days go by without acting, the IRS is authorized to move forward with the seizure. From then on it can:
- Seize bank accounts: the bank freezes the funds and, after a period of time, transfers them to the IRS.
- Withhold part of the salary: the employer must send a portion of the paycheck to the IRS with each payment.
- Seize other assets: in more serious cases, vehicles or other property.