Traill County, North Dakota: Navigating IRS Wage Levy & Hardship Status

When the IRS initiates enforced collection actions in Traill County, North Dakota, such as wage or bank levies (Form 668-W, Form 668-A), they assess your ability to pay using stringent financial guidelines. Taxpayers must complete Form 433-A, Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals, to detail their income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. The IRS then calculates your disposable income based on National and Local Collection Financial Standards, which are derived from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Expenditure Survey, American Automobile Association (AAA) operating costs, and US Census Bureau data. For instance, a single individual in Traill County is allowed $812 monthly for Food, Clothing, and Other necessary expenses. While specific IRS Local Housing & Utilities standards are not published for Traill County, the Service will consider actual, reasonable expenses. The goal is to determine if you meet the economic hardship criteria under IRC §6343(a)(1)(D), which can lead to levy release or Currently Not Collectible (CNC) status. These critical standards are published on IRS.gov.

For residents of Traill County, North Dakota, the IRS has not published specific Local Housing & Utilities allowances in its Collection Financial Standards. This means that the IRS will evaluate your actual housing and utility expenses for reasonableness. It is crucial to present accurate documentation of these costs. For comparison, the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) FY2025 Fair Market Rent (FMR) data for Traill County indicates a 2-bedroom unit averages $920.0 per month. If your actual, necessary housing expenses exceed what the IRS might deem reasonable, or if no specific standard is provided, you can request a deviation from the standard under Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) 5.15.1.10. This deviation process allows the IRS to consider higher expenses if they are necessary for your health and welfare or the production of income. Given the absence of specific IRS housing standards, citing HUD FMR data, particularly if your rent is at or below these figures, strengthens your argument for a reasonable housing allowance. Unfortunately, regional Shelter CPI data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is not available for this specific region to provide a year-over-year comparison on housing cost changes.

Beyond housing, the IRS allows specific amounts for other essential living expenses in Traill County, North Dakota. The National Standards for Food, Clothing, and Other necessary expenses, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, provide allowances such as $812 per month for a single person, increasing to $1983 for a family of four. This includes a breakdown for a single person of $449 for food, $44 for housekeeping supplies, $99 for apparel and services, $45 for personal care products, and $175 for miscellaneous items. For healthcare, the IRS Collection Financial Standards, derived from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, allow $75 per person monthly for those under 65 and $153 for those 65 and over. Transportation allowances, based on BLS data and AAA operating costs, are also critical. For Traill County, the IRS Local Standards for Transportation permit $588 per month for one car ownership and an additional $270 for operating costs in the region, totaling $858 for one vehicle. These allowances are designed to ensure taxpayers can maintain basic living standards while repaying their tax debt.

For taxpayers in Traill County, North Dakota facing severe financial hardship, the IRS offers Currently Not Collectible (CNC) status. To qualify, you must demonstrate, usually through Form 433-A, Collection Information Statement, that your allowable monthly expenses meet or exceed your monthly income, leaving no disposable income for tax payments. For a single filer in Traill County, an example of allowable monthly expenses could include a reasonable housing cost, such as the HUD FY2025 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom unit at $740.0, combined with the National Standards for Food, Clothing, and Other ($812), out-of-pocket healthcare ($75 for under 65), and one-car transportation ($858 total). This would result in total allowable expenses of approximately $2485.0. If your net income is less than this, you may qualify for CNC. Under IRM 5.16.1, the IRS will generally cease active collection efforts once CNC status is granted. This status is a form of economic hardship relief under IRC §6343(a)(1)(D), which can lead to a release of a levy (Form 668-W or Form 668-A). Crucially, while CNC provides temporary relief, it does not extend the Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED) under IRC §6502, which typically limits the IRS to 10 years to collect the tax debt.