• The IRS is part of the U.S. Department of Treasury."Department of Treasury Seal" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: woodleywonderworks (woodley wonderworks) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  

Function

• One way that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can collect what you owe is through back tax withholding. This allows the government to force your employer to take money out of your paycheck and give it directly to the government to pay down your outstanding debt.
  
  

Restrictions

• There are certain wages that the government cannot take money out of, including 85 percent of unemployment benefits, worker's compensation, child support payments, Social Security and a small exemption for costs of living.
  
  

Time Frame

• Once the IRS has started withholding back taxes from your paycheck, the withholding will continue until you have paid what you owe.
  
  

Effects

• The minimum amount of money that you must be allowed to keep is increased if you have dependents.
  
  

Types

• Back tax withholding can be a result of failure to pay federal, state or local taxes.
  
  

Alternatives

• The IRS can also collect back taxes by seizing property like personal possessions and your automobile.