From IRSOS.com.

A lien is nothing more than a claim against your property.
As soon as a tax is assessed against you, a statutory lien
is created. In other words, a claim against your property
in the amount of the tax owed. However, until a lien is
filed with the County Courthouse (perfected), it is not
enforceable against third parties.

The IRS typically files two liens, one on real property and
one on personal property. This includes ALL your property.
It is typically filed in your county of residence and in
other counties the IRS knows or thinks you may have
property. As a practical matter however, the IRS does not go
after personal property unless you are completely
uncooperative and the property has significant value. It is
your home they are typically interested in.

There are only five circumstances under which the IRS will
release a lien:

(1) The tax is paid in full or abated.

(2) You post a bond equivalent to twice the tax owed.

(3) You can convince the IRS that releasing the lien
will help you pay the tax quicker.

(4) You compromise the liability for less than is owed.

(5) The time expires for the IRS to collect the tax. This
is referred to as the "Statute of Limitations". The
IRS has ten years from the date of assessment to collect
the tax. There are certain things that can extend the
statute so be careful about making assumptions about the
date.

Other than paying the tax, the other options are very
difficult to accomplish. However, an Offer in Compromise
offers the best hope if you owe the tax and can't ever pay
it. For more information on Offers, see below.

One important thing to keep in mind about liens is that if a
lien is filed, filing bankruptcy will not help you
regarding the property a lien has been filed on. In other
words, even though the underlying tax may be discharged in
bankruptcy, the IRS still has a claim on your property
equivalent to the amount of tax owed. Liens can be tricky
things. It is recommended that you consult with a firm with
experience in dealing with liens.

Otherwise, disclose it to the lenders before hand.

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<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

- quote -

NO & NO,

My best advice is, if funds from a family member are
available, borrow from them to fully pay the tax lien!

The lien will remain on your credit report, but full payment
will clear the way for a Bank or Mortgage company to lend
you the funds to purchase a home.

Hopefully your mortgage & property taxes will cost you less
then rent I assume you are paying at the moment, the
available cash flow might be sufficient for you to
accelerate repayment of the ~Family~ loan.

Good luck.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

"msapp[at]apapets.org" <msapp[at]apapets.org> wrote:

- quote -

Once IRS has filed a tax lien, the only way to get them to
remove it is to prove to them that it was filed in error,
i.e., that you didn't owe the tax. The only thing you can
do now is to get them to file a release of the lien. The
only way to do that, AFIK, is to pay off the balance you
owe. Even then, your credit report will still show the tax
lien for the next 7 years but it should also show that the
lien was released.

I have seen people buy homes or refinance mortgages with tax
liens but the loan had to be large enough to pay off the
lien as well as finance the house.

Lanny K. Williams, CPA
Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd.
Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

I am voluntarily making payments to the IRS for back taxes
and have been for the last several years. Last year we were
hit by a couple of hurricanes and I missed a couple of
payments. The IRS filed a tax lien on my credit and now I
can't buy a house. I am still making the payments every
month, is there anything I can do to get it off my credit or
have it show that payments are being made?

Any advise is appreciated.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >