This chapter does not limit the state's right to collect a state tax liability except that (a) no levy upon earnings of an employee held by an employer is effective unless such levy is made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and (b) other methods of collection may not be used to require an employer to withhold earnings of an employee in payment of a state tax liability.
§ 706.071.Limitations On State's Right to Collect State Tax Liability
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 5. Wage Garnishment · Article 4. Earnings Withholding Order for Taxes · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 706.071 leaves the state's underlying power to collect a state tax liability intact, but requires that any levy on an employee's earnings held by an employer go through this chapter's earnings withholding procedure, and bars other collection methods from being used to force an employer to withhold wages for a state tax debt.
Full Text of § 706.071
Plain-English Summary
This section draws the same kind of boundary for state tax debts that § 706.020 draws for ordinary judgment debts. The state keeps every other tool it has for collecting a tax liability — this article doesn't shrink that power. But when the target is an employee's earnings sitting with an employer, the levy has to be made through this chapter's earnings withholding order procedure to be effective.
Subdivision (b) closes the loophole a general reading might leave open: the state can't use some other collection method to force an employer to withhold wages for a state tax liability. If the state wants an employer to withhold, it uses the withholding order for taxes this article creates, defined in § 706.072.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the state use other collection tools to reach my wages for unpaid taxes?
Not directly against your employer. Section 706.071 requires any levy on earnings held by an employer to go through the earnings withholding order procedure in this article.
Does this section limit the state's overall power to collect unpaid taxes?
No. It only requires that a levy specifically on employer-held earnings follow this chapter's procedure; the state's other collection powers are unaffected.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1364, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 1364.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: state's power to collect tax debt from wages california