FORM 668-A: Notice of Levy (Bank Account / Third-Party Levy)

What it is

Not a warning — enforcement itself. Form 668-A is the levy the IRS serves on a bank or other third party holding your money to collect an unpaid tax debt. By law this stage comes only after three things have happened: the IRS assessed the tax and sent a bill, you neglected or refused to pay, and the IRS sent a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing (the LT11 / Letter 1058 stage) at least 30 days before the levy. So a 668-A at your bank normally means the final-warning window has already run. The levy is served on the bank rather than on you — the IRS's bank-levy page refers to 'your copy of the levy,' the version that reaches you, and its instructions start with the phone number printed on it. Unlike a wage levy, which irs.gov describes as continuous, a bank levy reaches what is in the account when it arrives: funds are frozen as of the date and time the bank receives the levy, and it normally does not affect money you add to the account afterward.

Why you got it

Served on a third party — irs.gov notes employers, financial institutions, and even vendors or customers may receive an IRS levy — to seize funds for an overdue tax balance after the required pre-levy notice sequence has run without payment, a payment arrangement, or a timely hearing request.

The deadline structure

There is no 'respond by' date addressed to you on a bank levy — the fixed clock belongs to the bank. Under IRC §6332(c), a bank must surrender the deposits (including interest) only after 21 days after service of the levy; irs.gov describes this as a 21-day waiting period for complying with the levy, after which the frozen funds are sent to the IRS. The irs.gov levy-release pages say to contact the IRS immediately to resolve the liability and request a levy release.

The 21 days run from service of the levy on the BANK — it is the bank's remittance timing under IRC §6332(c), not a response window printed for you. Once the 21 days pass, the bank sends the funds to the IRS.

How to respond

• Call the telephone number shown on your copy of the levy (Form 668-A) — irs.gov says to contact the IRS immediately to resolve your tax liability and request a levy release
• If the frozen money is not yours — for example, you are named on another person's account — irs.gov says to call the number on Form 668-A prepared to explain why the funds belong to the account's owner
• Request release on the grounds irs.gov and IRC §6343(a) list: the amount owed is paid, the collection period ended before the levy issued, release will help you pay your taxes, an installment agreement whose terms don't allow the levy to continue, economic hardship (the levy prevents meeting basic, reasonable living expenses), or the property is worth more than the amount owed
• Appeal: Publication 1660 (Collection Appeal Rights) says you may appeal under the Collection Appeals Program (CAP) before or after the IRS levies your property (Form 9423 route — but you cannot go to court from a CAP decision), and if the 30-day CDP deadline was missed, an 'equivalent hearing' may be requested within 1 year of the levy notice — it does not prohibit levy and carries no Tax Court right

What ignoring it leads to

After the 21-day holding period, the bank sends the frozen funds — including interest — to the IRS. That payment may not close the account with the IRS: irs.gov notes a levy release does not exempt you from the balance, and the IRS will work with you on a payment plan or other steps to pay off what remains.

Mistakes people make with a FORM 668-A

• Assuming the money left the account the day the levy arrived — under IRC §6332(c) the bank holds the funds and surrenders them only after 21 days after service of the levy, and irs.gov says to contact the IRS immediately to request a release
• Assuming the levy swallows every future deposit — irs.gov states funds are frozen as of the date and time the levy is received, and the levy normally does not affect funds added to the account after that date
• Doing nothing because the account is already frozen — the release grounds (payment, installment agreement, economic hardship, and the appeal routes in Publication 1660) all begin with contacting the IRS, and even a release leaves the remaining balance owed
• Staying silent when the frozen money belongs to someone else — if you are named on another person's account, irs.gov says to call the number on Form 668-A and be prepared to explain why the funds are the account owner's

Official sources

• Information about bank levies
• What is a levy?
• How do I get a levy released?
• 26 U.S. Code § 6332 — Surrender of property subject to levy

Our summary paraphrases these sources. Last verified: BUILD 2026-07-11 (Claude Fable 5; researched from live irs.gov fetches: /businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/{levy, what-is-a-levy, information-about-bank-levies, how-do-i-get-a-levy-released, what-if-a-levy-is-causing-a-hardship}, /individuals/understanding-your-lt11-notice-or-letter-1058, /pub/irs-pdf/p1660.pdf (Rev. 1-2020), /newsroom/how-to-know-if-its-really-the-irs, /help/tax-scams/recognize-tax-scams-and-fraud; law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6332 and /6343) — re-verify before launch. Your printed notice always controls.

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