If you have unpaid taxes, there is a chance that the IRS could garnish your wages. This means that the IRS could contact your employer and ask for a certain percentage of your paycheck to be sent to them before you ever get paid. Not only can this be embarrassing, since you might not want your employer to know about your financial troubles, but it can also put you in a bad financial situation. Luckily, you do have options to prevent a garnishment from the IRS. These are a few potential options to look into.

Strike Up a Payment Plan

First of all, you should know that if you don't have all of the money that you need to pay your taxes, you can often strike up a payment plan with the IRS. You will be required to pay a monthly payment, and you will need to pay that minimum monthly payment in full each month. You should also know that any refunds that you might later be entitled to will be held and used to help clear your debt. Even though you might not like the idea of making monthly payments to the IRS, it can be a good way to keep them off of your back and to prevent further action.

Show Hardship

If you really can't afford to make monthly payments to the IRS at all, you might assume that you are destined for wage garnishment. This does not have to be the case, however. You may be able to temporarily delay the process of having action taken against you. This does not mean that you won't still owe the IRS -- unfortunately, your debt will not be cleared -- but if you can prove to the IRS that you are going through a hardship and are unable to pay, it can help prevent a garnishment of wages.

Work with a Lawyer

You can contact the IRS yourself for some things, but for others, you may want to hire a lawyer. If you have been denied for a temporary delay in the collections process, an attorney can help guide you in the right direction. A lawyer can also help you if your wages are already being garnished, since you do have the option to appeal the garnishment. A good lawyer can talk to you about your situation and help you choose the right option for handling your taxes.