Advice on Tax Liens and Credit Report

A credit score is designed to convey to lenders the kind of financial risk you are as a customer. Your credit score plays a very important part in making 95% of lending decisions in the United States. An IRS lien can have a significant impact on the quality of your credit score and the borrowing opportunities that are open to you. An IRS lien can also have a significant impact impact on the interest rate you will ultimately pay for a loan. Out of the five main factors considered and thought to be the predictive indicators an IRS lien will have the most serious effect on your history. An IRS inquiry on your credit report will also raise the eyebrows of any potential creditor. An IRS lien or an IRS inquiry tells a creditor that you have not paid them on time or that you have the potential of going into serious derogatory status. Both history and inquiries are weighty factors that affect your score. Getting the IRS to obey the law as written is not rocket science. If an IRS lien is affecting your score, there are proactive steps available to cause the IRS to withdraw their lien and notify Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion of having done so. 26 U.S.C. § 6323(j) provides that the Secretary may withdraw a notice of a lien in certain circumstances. If the Secretary withdraws a notice of lien it shall be applied as if the withdrawn notice had not been filed. This provision of the Code provides that if the Secretary determines that the filing of such notice of lien was not in accordance with administrative procedures of the Secretary that such withdrawal shall be made by filing notice at the same office as the withdrawn notice. 26 U.S.C. § 6323(j) provides that a copy of such notice of withdrawal shall be provided to the taxpayer. 26 U.S.C. § 6323(j) also provides that the Secretary, upon written request by the taxpayer with respect to whom a notice of a lien was withdrawn shall promptly make reasonable efforts to notify credit reporting agencies, and any financial institution or creditor whose name and address is specified in such request, of the withdrawal of such notice. It seems highly likely that Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion will pay attention to a notice coming from the IRS. 26 U.S.C. § 6323(j) provides that any such request shall be in such form as the Secretary may prescribe. Congress has imposed so many laws on the IRS that they have made it virtually impossible for the IRS to get it right. The subtleties of knowing precisely what to look for with respect to what was not done in accordance with administrative procedures of the Secretary is helped by the Treasury Inspector General Audit Reports as well as use of the Freedom of Information Act requests. Since an IRS lien could reflect on your credit score 7 years from date satisfied; and up to 15 years if unpaid, it would seem to be in your credit scores best interest to track down what administrative procedures of the Secretary were not followed and notify the IRS of their obligation to withdraw their lien and notify the credit reporting bureaus of having done so as soon as possible.

A tax lien can appear on a credit report for seven years from the date of payment. "Awareness" of a tax lien in your name is irrelevant, generally speaking. First, try to dispute the credit report error. I am pessimistic you will be successful, but it is worth a try if the county recorder made a simple error when reporting the delinquency to the credit reporting agencies. It is more likely that you will need to file a lawsuit against your ex-spouse to force him to pay the lien. Consult with an attorney in your state (perhaps the one who represented you in the divorce) about your rights and the possibility of filing a lawsuit against your ex-spouse.

I just got my credit report and have sales tax liens on it from when my EX-husband had "his own business" How do I dispute them since I was unaware of it?

Unlike other consumer debt where the clock starts at the date of first delinquency, the 7-year clock on tax debt starts when the debt is paid.

I have/had a state tax lein that was filed in Nov of 1994. I paid the lein amount within a couple months. However, there were late fees I was unaware of and not stated in the documentation. Finally after lots of searching, I figured out that was the reason the lein had not been released. I then paid it off and the lein was released in Nov 2003. I have filed the release with the equifax and to date they still refuse to remove the lein from my report. Is this right? The lein was filed in 1994 (15 years ago)and the release was granted in 2003 (6.5 years ago). Any suggestions on how I might be able to get this removed from my credit report.

Pull a copy of your credit reports from all three major U.S. credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. I recommend AnnualCreditReport.com. Dispute the derogatory entry with each of the credit bureaus that include it. See the Bills.com Debt Self-Help Center for a sample dispute listing letter. My guess -- note that word choice -- is that the entry in question is an error. If it is not, the dispute listing letter will flush-out the creditor to you, which will allow you to deal with the lien.

I have a tax lien on my credit report, but I don't know why. How do I find out who to contact about this. It doesn't list a state just a plaintiff # and dockett #.

Contact the state and see if a miracle will occur and the tax agent you speak to recognizes the error, reverses it, and refunds the money to your business. If you get nowhere, however, I think it is time to bring in an attorney who has experience in tax matters in your state. After you lay out all of the facts, ask the attorney if he or she thinks you have a cause of action for negligence against the agents who initiated the levy.

My corporation was under an extensive sales tax audit. After 100's of hours of work, the state determined I had underpaid a small amount of about $1,500. I was told I would receive a notice of the actual amount due including penalties. 6 week later I received a notice that showed about $18,000 due. This wasn't correct. I called the state and discovered that the state had not recorded a recent payment correctly. I had to get faxes of the canceled check for them. The state acknowledged that there was an error and informed me by phone that the would figure out the correct amount due. The next I heard from them was when I received notice of a tax lien. Two days before I received the tax lien, the amount due was electronically removed from my account. The notice of a tax lien was the first time i had been informed of the actual amount due. This is effecting my credit rating. How can I get this lien removed (vacated)? Should I contact the state, or will I need an attorney?

If you have a judgment on your credit report, then it does not mean that you can never get a loan. Mortgage companies look at how old the judgment is and for what amount, and are also looking at a lot of other factors such as income and debt ratio, before they can approve your loan. While I would not take her response at face value, you should definitely resolve the tax issue if you are looking to apply for a mortgage. You can get a free consultation about your tax issues at www.freedomtaxrelief.com.