What Is a Tax Lien?
A tax lien is the government’s legal claim against a taxpayer’s property when that individual fails to pay their taxes.
When the government places a tax lien on someone’s property, that doesn’t mean the property will be sold. Rather, the authority is guaranteed a claim over other credits competing for the taxpayer’s assets. They want to be paid, so they will put a lien on any property you own so you may not sell without paying the taxes you owe first.
Tax liens can result in any of the following outcomes:
- Credit: Liens can impact your credit and compromise your ability to get a loan.
- Business: The government has legal rights over your business property and assets, including accounts receivable.
- Assets: A tax authority claims all current and future assets acquired amid the lien.
- Bankruptcy: If you file for bankruptcy, your lien, outstanding balances, and Notice of Federal Tax Lien may remain.
There are no hard rules on when liens are filed, and they often seem arbitrary. Liens can be filed for unpaid taxes as small as $100, and we’ve seen clients owe millions with no liens filed.
How to Get out of a Tax Lien
If you have a lien on your property and are unable to pay your tax bill, there are other ways you can get the lien removed. Some of the most common methods include:
- Lien release: Cancels existing liens to ensure they don’t inhibit the associated property any longer.
- Partial lien release: Reduces the amount of taxes the taxpayer owes after paying a portion of the sum.
- Lien discharge: Gets rid of a lien through full owed tax repayment, lien expiration, or balance forgiveness so that it no longer encumbers the property.
- Lien subordination: Allows other creditors to supersede the IRS, making it easier for the taxpayer to get a loan or mortgage.
- Lien withdrawal: The IRS will withdraw a lien if they filed it incorrectly.
Though there are various ways to remove a federal lien, they are not as straightforward as they seem. That’s why it’s highly beneficial to invest in lien assistance services from our certified tax professionals to get the best outcome for your situation.
Our Lien Assistance Services
If you have a tax lien, please know that we can provide lien assistance to deal with it in the smoothest manner possible for you.
Our tax lien attorneys can provide you with a variety of ways to deal with your lien.
The process can be confusing for taxpayers, but once we understand your needs, we can discuss what option may be best for your situation such as a lien release, a lien discharge, a lien subordination, a partial lien release, or a lien withdrawal. Each of these outcomes has different requirements for qualifying, but we can guide you through the maze to reach the result you have in mind.