Property taxes are generally due and payable twice a year by residents of a city or county. If you fail to pay your property taxes on time, the city or county government may have a number of legal options available to secure payment of the past-due amount. Garnishment of your Social Security retirement benefits, however, isn't an option available to either a city or county government for payment of past-due property taxes.
Garnishment
Garnishment is a legal remedy available to a creditor when a debtor owes money to the creditor. Before a creditor may garnish a debtor's bank account or income, the creditor must obtain a judgment from a court. The creditor must file a lawsuit in the appropriate court and prove to the judge that the debtor legally owes the money to the creditor. If the court is convinced of the debt, then a judgment is entered against the debtor for the amount owed. Once the judgment has been entered, the creditor may attempt to enforce the judgment through any legally available method, such as garnishment.
General Rule for Garnishment of Social Security Benefits
Individual state laws govern garnishment, as long as they don't interfere with any federal laws that relate to garnishment. Federal benefits, for example, are often exempt from garnishment. Social Security retirement benefits typically can't be garnished for debts incurred by the recipient of the benefits. If a creditor attempts to garnish your Social Security retirement benefits, it's usually a violation of the Social Security Act, Section 207.
Exceptions to General Rule
Although federal benefits, including Social Security retirement benefits, usually can't be garnished for most debts, there are exceptions to the general rule. Child support or alimony payments, as well as certain civil penalties under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act, may be the basis for a garnishment of your Social Security retirement benefits. In addition, the federal government may garnish your Social Security retirement benefits if you owe back taxes to the federal government. A city or county taxing authority, however, can't garnish your benefits for past-due property taxes.
Considerations
Although the city or county tax authority can't legally garnish your Social Security retirement benefits, if you co-mingle those funds with other funds in a bank account, you may run into a problem if a bank garnishment is ordered. Although you may ultimately prevail when the court conducts a hearing on the garnishment, your bank account may be frozen until the hearing and any outstanding checks are returned unpaid. To avoid confusion, recipients of federal benefits often have the funds deposited into an account designated solely for their benefits.
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