Hacienda Levies on Bank Accounts, Wages, Refunds and Property

A levy or garnishment (embargo) is the tool the Departamento de Hacienda (Puerto Rico's Treasury Department, "Hacienda") uses to collect a tax debt by force when the taxpayer didn't pay within the time the law allowed. It's the last step in the collection process, and there were almost always several letters before it. If you received a levy notice, or found your account frozen, this guide explains what is happening and what you can do.

The rules are in Chapter 6 of Subtitle F of the 2011 Código de Rentas Internas (Internal Revenue Code of Puerto Rico), especially Sections 6060.01, 6060.02 and 6060.20, according to the current text published by the Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto (Puerto Rico's Office of Management and Budget), revised May 28, 2026. Levies by the CRIM (Municipal Revenue Collection Center) for property tax follow different rules. For those, see CRIM debts.

When Hacienda can levy

Hacienda explains that it can collect by levy any debt that has been notified to the taxpayer, after the time the law gives to appeal has expired. In other words, the debt must be assessed. While the deadlines to challenge a notice of deficiency are running, or while the case is in court, Hacienda can't start enforced collection.

According to Hacienda, every levy process starts with a notice to the debtor by certified mail with return receipt. From that notice, you have 30 days to pay or clear up the situation. After those 30 days, Hacienda has authority to proceed against your personal or real property. Section 6060.02 also provides that if you don't pay within that period, the seized property, or enough of it to cover the debt, can be sold at public auction.

The levy notice includes the total debt: taxes, interest, surcharges, penalties and, when the levy is carried out, fees equal to 10% of the principal tax owed, plus the cost of storing the property.

What Hacienda can levy

Bank accounts

Hacienda can require a bank or credit union (cooperativa) to hold money that belongs to you. A levy on deposits applies only to the balance available when the notice is served, or to the debt, whichever is less. Deposits you make after the notice are not subject to that levy.

Wages

Wage garnishment is continuous until you pay the amount in the notice. It's a priority lien on 25% of your pay after subtracting:

• Deductions required by law: Social Security, income tax and mandatory retirement system contributions.
• Child support obligations.
• Payments on any court judgment.

Other deductions you authorized, such as loans or savings, don't take priority over the garnishment.

Professional services income and accounts receivable

If you work under a professional services contract, Hacienda can require whoever pays you to hold those payments. That levy is continuous until the debt is paid in full. When those payments are your main source of income, the Code lets Hacienda accept a smaller amount than the amount levied. The same generally applies to a business's accounts receivable.

Refunds and other payments from Hacienda

If you owe Hacienda, your refund (reintegro) can be applied to those debts. The Centros de Servicio 360 (Hacienda's service centers) handle claims about refunds applied to debts. Hacienda did the same with the 2025 tax relief payment (Alivio Contributivo). For taxpayers with debts to Hacienda or to ASUME (Puerto Rico's child support enforcement agency), the payment was applied to those debts and only the remainder was paid out. See also the refunds guide.

Personal and real property

Unpaid tax debt, with its interest, surcharges, penalties and costs, is a lien in favor of the Government of Puerto Rico on all your property. Hacienda can file a Certificación de Gravamen por Contribuciones (tax lien certificate) in the Property Registry for the place where you live or where you own real estate, and it must send you a copy by certified mail.

When personal property is seized, the auction is held no sooner than 30 days and no later than 60 days after the seizure. The minimum price is 100% of the appraisal at the first auction, 75% at the second and 50% at the third. If money is left over after the debt is covered, it's returned to you.

If real estate is sold to pay taxes, the former owner can redeem it within one year from the date the certificate of purchase is issued. To do so, the owner must pay the purchase price, the buyer's improvements and expenses, the costs and the overdue debts, plus an additional 20% on all of that as compensation to the buyer.

Protected property and special cases

The Code exempts certain personal property from sale: tools and implements of mechanics and craftsmen used exclusively by hand, livestock and household furniture, as well as property that other laws declare exempt from seizure.

It also lets Hacienda postpone the sale of real estate when the taxpayer is elderly or has a terminal illness or one that permanently disables them, with a medical certification, if it's their only property and permanent home and they don't have enough property or income to pay the debt or qualify for a payment plan.

How to get a levy or lien released

1. Contact Hacienda right away. Hacienda recommends calling its automated call center at (787) 721-2020 or visiting the nearest Distrito de Cobro (collection district office; the page is in Spanish). These offices handle levies and levy releases, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
2. Ask for a debt certification to confirm what you're being charged. We explain this in tax debts and the statute of limitations.
3. Pay or set up a plan. If you pay the full debt, Section 6060.20 lets Hacienda issue a Certificación de Cancelación (release certificate) for the lien. If you can't pay it all, ask for a payment plan.
4. Offer a bond. Hacienda can release the lien if it accepts a bond that guarantees full payment.
5. Ask for a partial release. If the part of the property that stays under the lien is worth at least twice the debt and any prior liens, Hacienda can release the rest. It can also subordinate its lien in certain cases, for example to make way for a refinancing that improves collection.
6. If it's a case of mistaken identity, for example because of a name mix-up, Hacienda can issue a certification that the lien does not attach to your property.
7. Challenge it if appropriate. If your personal property was seized, you can go to the Tribunal de Primera Instancia (Puerto Rico's Court of First Instance) within the time set in the levy notice.

If you believe Hacienda violated your rights during the process, you can go to the Oficina del Procurador del Contribuyente (Taxpayer Advocate's office). We explain this in taxpayer rights.

787TAX is an independent guide. It is not Puerto Rico's Departamento de Hacienda, the CRIM or the IRS. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Example figures are hypothetical. Found an error? Tell us.