I represent taxpayers in Gainesville and the state of Florida who have tax issues with the IRS.
Whenever you owe the IRS on a tax debt, there is an automatic statutory lien created by law. The problem for other creditors is that they won’t know about this claim on your property. The answer to that problem is the Notice of Federal Tax Lien which is filed in a courthouse near to the taxpayer’s residence. The big question for anybody receiving one of these notices is “how do I get rid of it?” There are various ways to get an IRS to release a lien on your property.
Pay the debt in full – not a great answer if you don’t have the cash
Discharge of property – the IRS releases a specific property from its general lien on all assets of the debtor
Subordination – the IRS allows other creditors to move ahead of their claim on a specific property
Withdrawal – the IRS releases the lien even though the debt is still owed.
Payment in Full
Of course, this is the IRS preferred reason for issuing a Certificate of Release of Federal Tax Lien. The IRS has an automated system that should issue this certificate within 30 days of receiving final payment or the discharge of the debt due to the Statute of Limitations running out.
Discharge of property
Sometimes it is in the best interest of the government to release the lien against a specific property. The IRS guidelines allow them to do this when the value of remaining property under lien is at least 2 times the taxpayers debt. Other reasons include an agreement to hold the proceeds of any sale in trust for the United States.
Subordination
This is another one of those things that require the situation to be in “the best interest of the government. This is generally what happens when the IRS wants the sale to go through, but other creditors will block it unless they get their cut first.
Withdrawal
The IRS can withdraw their public Notice of Federal Tax Lien. This usually happens when the TP enters a Payment Plan that will allow the government to receive full payment in 60 months or less. There is a Fresh Start program that allow some people with tax debts of $25,000 or less to qualify for withdrawal.
The IRS Notice of Federal Tax Lien has some large repercussions that will incentive you to get a release. The biggest one is usually the impact on your credit rating. The second one is the hassle of having to deal with yet another creditor when selling a property. When in doubt as to your qualifications for one of the above outs, it’s one of those things where there is no downside to asking.
If you or someone you know has received a Notice of Intent to Levy or some other federal or state tax issue, please feel free to contact me at either (352) 317-5692 or email jim@backoffice2.net.