If you owe money to the IRS and they think you’re not going to pay, they can simply take it from you. The IRS tax lien and tax levy are powerful tools. They are used to take over your bank accounts, property, and other assets. Even your social security, pension, or retirement funds aren’t safe from IRS tax liens and levies.
If you’re facing an IRS tax lien or tax levy, you have a right to be scared.
Secret IRS Tax Liens You May Not Even Know About
Internal Revenue Code 6321 says an IRS tax lien is automatic, whenever the IRS decides you owe them money and you don’t pay. This initial IRS tax lien doesn’t exist on any paper filed in your local courthouse. You can think of it as a kind of secret IRS tax lien, that is allowed by law or statute, which is why it’s called a statutory lien. There’s no public record of a statutory tax lien. But it is very real.
Once the IRS begins to levy or seize your bank account, garnish your wages, seize your property and take money from the accounts receivable of your business, here’s what could happen to you and your family:
- Your outstanding checks start to bounce
- You’re unable to pay rent or house payments
- You might not be able to cover all your living expenses
- You can’t make automobile payments, and you car is repossessed
- If you own a business, vendors and suppliers are reluctant to deal with you
You won’t know anything about your statutory tax lien, but the IRS may already have its fingers on your throat. A statutory tax lien lays the groundwork for the IRS to seize your assets and potentially destroy your credit.
Everything you worked so hard to build could crumble if you don’t take care of this situation. But you still have rights. You can still potentially avoid an IRS tax lien or fight it and win. But you have to take action now. You need the help of a tax professional.
IRS Tax Liens Affect Your Real Estate Investment
Whenever the IRS decides you owe taxes, they can issue an automatic claim on your property at any time. This claim is called an IRS tax lien. An IRS tax lien extends to all property, including real estate investments.
Credit reporting agencies like Equifax, Experian, and Transunion will become aware of your IRS tax lien, and they will list it on your credit report, which may greatly damage your credit score. You’ll have a rough time trying to get a mortgage or a home equity loan. Lenders may be reluctant to refinance. You may not be able to get any new loans.
IRS Tax Liens Make it Hard to Sell Your Real Estate
An IRS tax lien could also make it difficult to sell your property. When a buyer does their due diligence, they’ll probably discover your IRS tax lien. An IRS tax lien on property usually remains in effect even after the property is sold, which means that your problem will now become the buyer’s problem unless you take steps to deal with it. Because of this added complication, many potential buyers may choose not to buy your property.
An IRS tax lien sometimes forces property owners to sell below market value in order to pay off their tax lien.
Even your future wealth is subject to the Notice of Federal Tax Lien. If somebody passes away and leaves you an inheritance, the IRS has a claim on the new assets. If you manage to buy new property, the IRS can use the IRS tax lien as a basis for taking it away from you.
If you don’t respond to an IRS tax lien, you could lose it all. The IRS can take almost anything they want from you. People will look at your new poverty and might think of you as a failure. Smug acquaintances may wag their fingers and say I told you so.
What You Can Do to Release Your IRS Tax Lien
Remember that the IRS uses fear and intimidation to collect your money. They’ll do whatever they can to make you pay on time and in full. The IRS tax lien might make you feel like you have no choice.
But you do have a choice. If you’re being treated unfairly, you need to fight back. If you sincerely want to pay off your tax debt, but don’t know how, you might be able to negotiate a smaller or easier payment plan.
If you have any questions about your IRS tax lien, or if you have any doubts about the best way to settle the IRS tax lien, you owe it to yourself to call me at 1-800-509-2770 so we can explore all of your options.
Here are a few of the common ways to take care of an IRS tax lien:
- Collection Hold / Extension of Time. You may be able to buy some time if you play by the rules. Drawing on 11 years of experience dealing with IRS tax liens, I’ll show you the rules.
- Offer-in-Compromise. There’s a wonderful program that lets you pay off your tax debt, eliminate the IRS tax lien, clear your record and have the whole thing done with. All for a reduced amount of tax. I’ve helped taxpayers nationwide to erase or avoid an IRS tax lien using this process.
- Appeal/Reduction. Don’t let some low-level bureaucrat have the last word. If the IRS agent you’ve dealt with hasn’t followed every required procedure, if they’ve assessed your taxes wrongly, if they’ve broken any of their own rules, you might be able to make a case for eliminating that IRS tax lien. Time is essential here. You may only have a limited period of time to challenge the filing of the IRS tax lien. Call 1-800-509-2770 and we’ll look into appealing your IRS tax lien.
- Partial Discharge. Sometimes the IRS tax lien keeps you from selling assets that you could use to pay off your tax debt. I can request the IRS to discharge an IRS tax lien on some of your property, so you can settle this and get on with your life. Call me and we’ll move toward fixing this problem.
- Installment Agreement or pay up. If you can raise the cash yourself, you might want to enter into a monthly or periodic installment payment agreement or fully pay your IRS tax lien and move on. If you can beg or borrow from someone else, it’s usually better to owe money to almost anyone other than the IRS.
There’s still hope. If you’re the kind of person who can keep a cool head during a crisis, we can deal with the IRS. If you’ve got the courage to stand up to the government, I’ll show you how.
If you believe in your right to defend your business, your property, and you and your family’s well-being, call me today at 1-800-509-2770 and we’ll look at all of your options
But remember, if the IRS served you a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, you may only have a limited time to give them an answer.
Don’t Wait to Stop Your IRS Tax Lien
Time is essential. The IRS is supposed to give you 30 days’ warning before they file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien.
Think about how long it will take you to contact them, explore your options, work out an arrangement, assess your property, meet with a tax attorney, and gather all your records. Those thirty days are going to go by awful fast! And if you’ve moved, they may send the notice to your old address. Then how much time do you think you’ll have?
Whatever your situation, you have to deal with this thing before it potentially ruins your life. Imagine the trauma of explaining to your family that your second home is going to be sold off at an auction. Or that your kid’s college fund is gone.
Maybe your business is just about to turn around, and all your hard work and sacrifice is finally going to pay off. But if you don’t act today, the IRS will shatter all your dreams.
Call me today at 1-800-509-2770 and we’ll look at the best way to deal with your IRS tax lien.
Release of Your IRS Tax Lien Might Become Another Problem
Even if you’ve paid off or settled your IRS tax lien liability, you’ve won the fight, but you still have to clean up the mess. After you’ve cleared your IRS tax lien, the IRS is supposed to issue a Certificate of Release of Lien within 30 days.
Unfortunately, the government isn’t always that efficient.
If you want to set the record straight as quickly as possible, you might have us to contact the Chief of Special Procedures and proactively take action to have the IRS tax lien released . After the tax lien is released you’ll need to gather all the appropriate documents, and notify the credit reporting agencies that your IRS tax lien has been released.
You’ve got better things to do with your time than urge federal bureaucrats to do their job. You need an expert to clear this up. I’m Tax Attorney Jeff Fouts, and I’ve got 11 years of experience in IRS tax liens and other tax problems. Call me today at 1-800-509-2770 so we can fix this thing for good.