TAX LIENS

We can only “scratch the surface” on our web page regarding all the complex issues associated with tax liens. However, you should be able to get enough general information to know if you need to meet with myself, Scott Allen E.A.

Once the IRS files a tax lien against you, they have a legal claim to your home, auto and any other property that you have title to. That doesn’t mean in most cases that they are going to come and take your property, but it does mean that if you sell the property they have rights to the money received over and above any debt owed previous to the filing of the tax lien. The IRS will only file a tax lien after they have assessed the tax and made a demand for payment and you cannot pay the amount owed within 10 days.

All of your creditors that want to check your credit status will see that the IRS has a claim against your property. The IRS tax lien will negatively affect your credit and you may not be able to get a loan, or if you can, the interest rate charged will be significantly higher than if you did not have an IRS tax lien. If you pay off the IRS tax debt the IRS will release the lien within 30 days according to their rules but it usually takes longer. A IRS tax lien automatically expires after 10 years. They are “self-releasing” liens.  However, even if the IRS tax lien is released it will still be on your credit report until you notify the credit bureau that the lien is no longer valid. The IRS will not do that for you since you did not pay off the tax debt.