IRS Tax Liens / Tax Lien Discharge

The IRS may place a federal tax lien or multiple IRS tax liens on an individual or business.  IRS tax liens inform other creditors of the taxing authority’s legal right to a taxpayer’s assets and property. A tax lien can even appear on a debtor’s credit report. If the tax liabilities remain unpaid, then the IRS can use a tax levy to legally seize the taxpayer's assets (such as bank accounts, investment accounts, automobiles, and real property) in order to collect the money it is owed. Therefore, while a lien secures the government’s interest in an individual’s or business’ property when the tax debt remains unpaid, a levy actually permits the government to seize and sell the property in order to pay the tax debt. IRS tax liens are issued by the IRS Collections department and/or by a Revenue Officer.  IRS Tax Liens can be issued on one year for one account, and separately IRS Tax Liens can be issued on multiple years for another account.  In the same sense a Tax lien discharge can occur on one year or on multiple years.  There are a number of ways to deal with IRS tax liens and ultimately have them discharged.  One such way to get a tax lien discharge is to pay off the liability in full (at least on the particular year a Lien is placed on).  Another way to get a tax lien discharge is to agree to a Direct Debit Installment Agreement (aka DDIA) with the IRS and make 3 consecutive payments to bring your liability under $25,000.  This is a part of so called Fresh Start Initiative, which allows taxpayers to get on a payment plan and receive a tax lien discharge in return.  These are just two examples of other legitimate ways to get a tax lien discharge.  There is an IRS Unit which deals with tax lien removals, even after the tax liability has been paid off.