A property levy is the seizure itself: an IRS revenue officer takes physical property — a vehicle, equipment, real estate — under Form 668-B and sells it. It is far rarer than a bank levy, and it runs on a stricter rulebook: a statutory exemption list (§6334), approval levels that rise with the asset, and a sale process with its own clocks. The ranking sources for this topic are the IRS’s own documents (Publication 594, IRM 5.10 and 5.17.3), so accuracy is the whole game — this page translates them into one table.
General information, not tax advice. A seizure means the IRS has already finished the notice sequence. If officers have taken property, the sale and redemption clocks below are already running — act on the dates, and get a tax professional involved for any asset of real value.
Under §6331(a), a levy reaches all property and rights to property — except what §6334 exempts. There is no general “necessities” shield beyond the list; if an asset is not on it, it is leviable.
Exempt under §6334(a) (IRM 5.17.3): necessary clothing and school books; fuel, provisions, furniture and personal effects up to the cap below; books and tools of a trade, business or profession up to the cap below; unemployment benefits; undelivered mail; specified annuity and pension payments (Railroad Retirement Act benefits, Medal of Honor and military retired pay among them); workers’ compensation; income for court-ordered child support; the §6334(d) minimum exempt amount of salary and wages (computed from Publication 1494 — the wage-side detail lives in the wage garnishment cluster); service-connected disability payments; specified public assistance payments; and Job Training Partnership Act assistance.
The 2026 dollar caps (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) — these adjust for inflation every year:
| Exemption | 2026 cap |
|---|---|
| §6334(a)(2) — household fuel, provisions, furniture, personal effects | $11,980 |
| §6334(a)(3) — books and tools of trade, business or profession | $5,990 |
| Asset | Can the IRS take it? | The extra condition |
|---|---|---|
| Principal residence | Rarely — and never casually | Exempt outright if the levy amount is $5,000 or less (§6334(a)(13)); above that, seizure requires the written approval of a U.S. district court judge or magistrate judge (§6334(e)(1)) |
| Vehicle | Yes | No vehicle-specific exemption — but the seizing officer must set aside exempt property (household effects/tools up to the caps) at the seizure, and the net-proceeds test below still applies |
| Business assets of an individual | Yes, with sign-off | Seizure of an individual’s business assets requires high-level written approval (Area Director level, §6334(e)(2)); the tools-of-trade cap protects the first $5,990 — the fuller business picture is on levy on business assets |
| Real estate (non-residence) | Yes | Same sale machinery as below; the 180-day redemption right is the owner’s protection |
| Retirement accounts | Leviable in law, gated in practice | Revenue-officer-only, with an IRS three-step test and Area Director approval — covered on the Social Security & retirement page |
The net-proceeds rule gates everything in the table: the IRS may not seize property unless the expected sale proceeds, net of the costs of seizure and sale, will actually apply to the tax debt (Publication 594). A low-equity asset is not a lawful or practical seizure target — and “no equity, no seizure” is a real argument to raise with the revenue officer.
If the seizure itself was wrongful — wrong taxpayer, exempt property, no required approval — the challenge routes are a release/appeal through the Collection Appeals Program (which expressly covers seizures, including for third-party owners) and the §6343 release grounds on the hub. What a lien is, and how it differs from all of this, is levy vs lien.
What happens after my property is seized and how do I get it back? You receive a Notice of Seizure (Form 2433), then a Notice of Sale; the sale is held between 10 and 40 days after that notice. Before the sale, you can reclaim the property by paying the tax and seizure expenses, or by getting the seizure released (wrongful, exempt, or approval-defective seizures are challengeable). After a sale, real property — only — can be redeemed within 180 days at the purchase price plus 20% annual interest (IRS, “What happens after my property is seized?”; §§6335, 6337).
Can the IRS take your house or car? A car: yes — vehicles have no §6334 exemption of their own, subject to the net-proceeds rule. A house: almost never in practice — a principal residence is exempt when the levy is $5,000 or less, and above that the IRS needs a federal judge’s written approval before seizing it (§6334(a)(13), (e)(1)). Most home seizures you read about involve very large, long-running liabilities and exhausted alternatives.
What property is exempt from IRS levy? The §6334(a) list: necessary clothing and school books; household fuel, provisions, furniture and personal effects up to $11,980 (2026); trade books and tools up to $5,990 (2026); unemployment benefits; undelivered mail; specified pension/annuity payments; workers’ compensation; child-support income; the Publication 1494 minimum wage amount; service-connected disability payments; specified public assistance; and Job Training Partnership Act assistance (IRM 5.17.3; Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
Can the IRS seize my property if there’s no equity in it? No — under the net-proceeds rule the IRS may not seize property unless the expected sale proceeds, after seizure and sale costs, will apply to the debt (Publication 594). An asset whose forced-sale value would be consumed by senior liens and sale costs produces nothing for the Treasury, and the seizure should not happen; document the equity math for the revenue officer.
General information, not tax advice. Sources: IRC §§6331, 6334, 6335, 6337; Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (§6334 inflation adjustments for 2026); IRM 5.10 and 5.17.3; IRS Publication 594. Currency verified 2026-10-23.