Category: Tax Lien

So, you’ve failed to pay your taxes, and now a tax lien has been imposed on you by the IRS. How to remove tax lien from your credit report? How do you hope to get out of it?

The tax lien is there to get your priorities straight and settle your tax obligations straight away. That’s why the government has first dibs on your assets. You have to pay the tax collector first before anyone else.

 

How to get a tax lien removed from your credit report?

 

These unsettled tax liens can remain on your records. You need to pay off your tax debts in full so that the tax lien can be removed. But, it may stay on record for about seven years even after payment has been settled. Any errors can be disputed just like any other unjust charges that may or may not be incurred from your other service providers. If you weren’t subject to a tax lien in the first place, then you have the right to dispute this.

The IRS may file the tax lien, and they can also report you to any credit bureau which will affect your credit standing. Just like bankruptcies and other judgments, as a matter of public record, your tax liens will come up. Because of this, you have to deal with both the credit reporting agencies and the IRS, so your credit report gets appropriately expunged.

 

How can you dispute this tax lien?

Fair credit reporting laws (FCRA) that monitor all debts also look into tax liens. If the government does not have the documentation to prove that you owe them something adequately, then that gives you the leeway to dispute. And subsequently, the tax lien will be removed from your record.

But, if the debt is quite huge, any disputes that don’t jive with information errors will be ignored by the government. All the IRS has to do is to update the information, confirm its accuracy, and this tax lien remains there on your file.

Settling this in full will empower the IRS to release the lien, but the seven-year report stays regardless of an amicable settlement. But even if you are unable to pay everything, there’s still a way to deal with this tax lien removal.

 

How do you get the tax lien removed or released?

The specific remedy of tax lien removal should be requested. There’s a difference with this compared to released when the payment has been settled in full. Withdrawal can also be requested even if installment payments are ongoing for the lien.

The qualification for this is full payment. Payment plans are to be followed strictly, and the IRS won’t withdraw tax liens for other settlement negotiations. Even if the lien payments happen over time, this option helps you qualify for new credit and also sell your home, because the tax liens are in the process of being paid.

IRS form 12277 is the specific withdrawal request that needs to be filed when disputing and removing tax liens from your credit record. Follow-ups with credit bureaus are necessary because the IRS will not notify them about the withdrawal of the lien.

It’s not only the IRS you have to coordinate with, but the other three credit reporting agencies should be part of the loop so that the withdrawal is filed properly. Older liens that have been settled are possible candidates for withdrawal. But this takes separate coordination with the IRS and other credit bureaus.

The average consumer will get frustrated because the IRS doesn’t inform the credit bureaus about the improvement in your credit report. The nuances between a release and a withdrawal can also be confusing for those not that well versed in tax laws. That can leave you with fewer options to get your credit back on track.

Let the professionals step in to guide you through the complex world of tax liens. There are certain ways of proceeding. Don’t panic and allow that help to come in especially when tax liens are present on your record.

 

What are some other challenges?

 

Sadly, the timely informing of the tax lien being placed on your credit report won’t be to your liking. You will get a notice demanding payment from the IRS and that would be that.

A Notice of Federal Tax Lien will be filed if you are not able to address this straight away. Unless it is free of errors, the filing of this lien stating the amount owed will be as such until settled promptly.

The tax liens stay even with the filing of bankruptcy. To avoid this, before the filing of the lien is attached, this should be dealt with accordingly. But, even bankruptcy comes with its share of other financial challenges.

 

What are some other options?

If the IRS has withdrawn the tax lien, in the case of a federal tax lien, then you are encouraged to coordinate this removal with a credit bureau. The IRS website also has other information on how withdrawal works and there are more details about guidelines regarding federal tax liens.

Credit repair professionals are on hand to be your agent in dealing with credit bureaus. You’ll increase your chances of removing your tax lien because they know best on how to go about this.

Look into the tax consultants who are there to be of service for your needs. The negative items on your report can be deleted. Bankruptcies, foreclosures, repossessions can also be dealt with. This also covers tax liens, judgments, charge-offs, late payments, collections among others.

 

Why it’s good to search and ask for the help you need?

With all these moving parts that need to be monitored, don’t get too caught up in all the chaos and confusion. Aside from all the information, you can research online, and there’s no harm in seeking advice from people who are used to dealing with these tax issues.

Don’t allow that tax lien to leave an unsightly mark on your financial position. Seek out the help that can professionally and properly assist you through this.

Even if future credit reports can remove such tax liens, this will still hurt your credit standing.

Once the government has filed a tax lien against you for non-payment of required taxes, that sends a red flag to creditors which increases their concern as to whether they are inclined to lend you money or not. Just the fact that you are unable to pay your tax obligations, that already gives you a negative impression in their eyes.

When a tax lien is marked against you, it is highly probable that it will show up on your credit report. Last year, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion were the three major credit bureaus that reported to remove or exclude many liens and most civil judgments from consumers’ credit reports.

To prevent the tax lien from ruining your credit score, you have this removed right away.

First, inquire with the IRS if you’re eligible to apply for withdrawal so that the tax lien gets struck out from your credit report. The liability for the unpaid tax debt remains, but the withdrawal removes the public notice of the tax lien. Form 12277 and the Application for the Withdrawal of Filed Form 668 are the forms you need to fill out.

If you’ve been consistent in filing your tax returns for the past three years, and you’ve monitored any estimated tax payments and federal tax deposits, plus you’ve paid in full the tax lien, this may support your eligibility status. You may qualify for the removal of the tax lien if you have a debt less than or equal to $25,000 and if placed into a direct debit installment agreement wherein the amount will be paid back in 60 months or before the collection statute expires —whichever comes ahead.

Another situation could be that the IRS may have prematurely filed the lien or failed to follow its own rules. And if the withdrawal expedites your compliance to pay and both you and the government come to an agreement on this, the lien could also be removed subsequently. An installment plan for repayment helps get the ball rolling.

In the Form 12277, please include the contact information of the credit bureaus that need to notified once this removal has been approved.

When applying for a withdrawal, be sure to include with Form 12277 the names and addresses of any credit bureaus you want to be notified. As part of your due diligence, go through the credit report to check if the removal of the tax lien has been properly stated. Without that updated information, you may run into some discrepancies with the credit bureaus.

The moral of the story for your credit score is . . .

Try not to reach this point wherein a tax lien was imposed because you failed to pay on time. If you’ve stumbled a bit, pick yourself up and straighten out these obligations. Your credit score will heal over time as soon as you can abide by an acceptable payment scheme and schedule.

So, you’ve failed to pay your taxes and now a tax lien has been imposed on you by the IRS.  How to remove a federal tax lien? How do you hope to get out of it? The tax lien is there to get your priorities straight and settle your tax obligations. That’s why the government has first dibs on your assets. You have to pay the IRS first before anyone else.

 

If you are not compliant with IRS requirements, the effect remains for the filing of the IRS with regard to a notice of federal tax lien. Thus, you need to acquire a certificate of release of lien from the IRS so that you can be released from this lien. This just means that the IRS needs assurance that your tax liability will be paid so that they can issue you a release. It might have been difficult before to obtain this release. But since February 2011, once a taxpayer enters into a direct debt installment agreement, which shows intent to settle the debt, the withdrawal was successful for most cases.

 

The IRS presents some ways to release a tax lien or withdraw it based on recent policy changes. Here are some information for each method. If the conditions are met, there usually is a 30-day period for the IRS to release the tax lien.

 

It’s a matter of paying in full whatever taxes are owed

Once payments have been received to settle tax obligations inclusive of interest and penalties, the IRS can release the lien. There have been recent developments in policy changes, but before this went into effect, credit history or reports still showed that settled tax liens indicated as paid or released, but that still gave a negative impression. A positive change by the IRS is to request the tax lien to be withdrawn and thus expunged from the record. Processes are still being improved by the IRS so thousands of taxpayers can seek this tax lien relief. In 2012, the policy will be up for review.

 

A Direct Debit Installment Agreement needs to be established

Payment plans have been offered by the IRS to taxpayers who are unable to pay the whole amount. The direct debit installment agreement can help ease the burden of a tax lien. As of February 2011, or thereafter, tax debt less than $25,000 can be entered into an IRS Installment Agreement. That means every month an agreed upon amount will be withdrawn from your checking account. This will enable them to withdraw the tax lien upon your request. Of course, a certain period showing successful consecutive payments must be proven so that the withdrawal of the lien can be justified. This is a better option compared to before wherein the reduction of the tax lien would not be recognized by the IRS even if consistent payments were submitted. The full amount remains displayed until it gets completely paid up.

 

An Offer in Compromise Can Also Help Settle Debts

Requirements for the Offer in Compromise program have recently been relaxed by the IRS. The new Streamlined Offer in Compromise program qualifies you if you have a $100,000 annual income and maybe owe up to $50,000. Settlement of taxes lower than the total amount can be allowed to qualified taxpayers. Thus, a strict set of requirements must be undertaken so the IRS can see if you meet the criteria. It begins with the taxpayer offering a settlement amount to the IRS, which is greater or equal to what can be collected even under forced collection mechanisms. This Offer in Compromise program is very difficult to acquire and the denial rate can go through the roof. To increase your chances, better tender the services of a professional tax consultant so you may get into this program. The tax consultant will also give you a preliminary examination so that he or she can determine if you can be considered a likely candidate for this type of relief.

 

The Statute of Limitations

Even IRS debts have a statute of limitations compared to most other debts. This period usually takes 10 years from the date issued by the IRS when it sent its first assessment notice of taxes owed after you filed. If bankruptcy was declared, the tax was not discharged, an offer in compromise filed, and  the statute of limitations may be extended. Another form 900, which was signed allowing the IRS to get more time to collect, is also part of their tactics plus other subtle and sly options.

 

A Bond Guaranteeing Payment of Tax Debt is Acceptable to the IRS

Once the IRS accepts this type of bond from you, it will take them about 30 days to remove the lien. This bond serves as a guarantee that payment for taxes owed will be forthcoming so this can be considered as paying your taxes in full. The challenge here is that you better have enough funds to cover the debt and this is a major requirement to qualify for this bond.

 

Thirty days need to pass and the requirements must be sent to the IRS, the lien should be released. Due to recent policy changes, the withdrawal can also be applied for in most cases. But for the majority, you may have to work a little bit harder to straighten out things with the IRS for them to grant the release. The toll-free number for the Centralized Lien Unit is (800) 913-6050 and this may be a good place to start. Documentary evidence and other proof need to be presented that there was an acknowledgment receipt by the IRS and the tax was paid to them. When you receive the certificate of release, even if the IRS does not record this, you must do your utmost to do so. The three major credit bureaus need a copy of this certificate of release so that their files can be updated as well and thereby confirm that the lien was indeed released.