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Houston Federal & State Tax Lien Removal Help

A closeup shot of a tax professional using a calculator while working on tax lien removal.

When you owe back taxes, one of the government’s remedies is to place a lien on your property, bank accounts, and even wages. This action can severely harm your credit and even put you in a situation where you cannot pay your other bills. Worse, these liens can be very tricky to get lifted, leaving you stuck with this burden for a long time.

Your best chance to get a lien discharged rests with a federal & state tax lien removal service. From discharging property to seeking payment plans, having the lien withdrawn, to filing amended tax returns, the right Houston federal & state tax lien removal help can be the answer to getting you back on financially sound ground.

Our tax experts will be your partner on the road to recovery, standing by your side every step of the way while we explore solutions to removing liens. With more than a decade of experience, we have the knowledge and skills to help reduce or eliminate the pressures of your tax burdens.

Call (888) 921-3781 or contact us online to schedule your free appointment today. Let us explore options for helping you once more find financial freedom.

Why Hire a Houston Federal & State Tax Lien Removal Service?

Tax liens can put severe and undue burden on your finances, even to the point where you are in danger of failing to pay other bills. The first step is understanding what a tax lien is, and what it means.

A tax lien occurs when a creditor, such as a bank or the federal government, places a claim of ownership on your property. This means that you cannot sell or transfer said property as long as the lien is in effect.

While this does not affect your ability, for example, to live in your house, it does affect cash assets like your bank accounts, which the IRS can attach or freeze in some cases. In the end, whenever an asset is sold, transferred, or otherwise converted to cash, the lien holder gets to take their cut before you can use the cash otherwise.

Just as bad, a tax lien is a stain on your credit and on the asset itself. All of this together means that a lien is something you do not want on your records.

This risk is why it is so important to have help from an experienced federal & state tax lien removal service. At Instant Tax Solutions, our expert tax professionals can help to free up your assets so you can sell or otherwise use them to re-attain financial freedom. We offer options for removal, strategies for dealing with the IRS and Texas state governments to reduce your debts, and best of all, we help you to find some peace of mind. Just drop us a line to discuss strategies to getting your financial feet beneath you once more.

The Difference Between State Tax Lien vs. Federal Tax Lien

State and federal laws for tax liens are defined by two different rules sets. While the federal government offers a wide range of options for reducing and removing liens, the state of Texas can be difficult to deal with. The state is also often much more willing to place a lien than the federal government.

Federal Tax Liens

The federal government must meet three criteria before filing a lien:

  1. They must assess your tax liability
  2. They must send a written demand for tax payment
  3. You must have failed to address the tax debt within ten days of receipt of the notice.

A tax lien appears on your credit report and can be devastating. While you can negotiate for settlements, the process is difficult, stressful, and best accomplished with the help of professional tax lien services.

Texas State Tax Liens

In Texas, the rules for tax liens are outlined in the state tax code, chapter 32 and chapter 113. State tax liens take priority over any other creditor claims or liens against the property, even if said claims existed before the tax lien was placed. The state exercises a great deal of authority in this area.

On the upside, the state code forbids enforcing tax liens against personal property that is transferred in the ordinary course of business. The state code provides a number of other loopholes and restrictions on tax liens regarding personal property, which an experienced tax lien help service can use to help you.

Because of these strict rules, it can be very difficult to remove a lien in Texas. Instant Tax Solutions has the knowledge and tools to help you get the peace of mind you need and get out from under state tax liens.

How Can I Get My State or Federal Tax Liens Removed?

According to the state tax code Chapter 32, the release of a Texas tax lien occurs with the approval of the attorney general after the filing of a tax lien release at the county clerk’s office and payment of an additional fee. The tax code, however, clarifies that a state tax lien can only be fully released after full payment of taxes, interest, fees, and penalties owed.

In terms of federal tax liens, you may have several options for having them abated or lifted entirely. These include:

  • Filing an amended return
  • Requesting an adjustment
  • Paying down the amount you owe
  • Negotiating a payment plan
  • Requesting discharge of specific property
  • Having the lien subordinated
  • Having the lien withdrawn entirely

Pay Down the Amount Owed

One of the most straightforward methods to remove a lien is to pay off or pay down the amount you owe. In some cases if you pay the tax down to below $25,000 or reduce your tax burden to less than the value of the property against which the lien is placed, you can request that the lien be removed.

File an Amended Return

You can file an amended tax return within three years of the original return. An amended tax return allows you to add additional tax deductions to a prior year which you did not know you were entitled to receive. You can then apply these credits to your existing tax debt, which can sometimes reduce or even eliminate the debt that caused the lien to be placed. With the debt resolved, the lien can then be removed.

Seek a Payment Plan

Sometimes, you can avoid having a lien placed if you seek a payment plan with the IRS. Normally, your debt must be under a $50,000 threshold for this to occur, but more importantly, you must typically seek and enter into the payment plan before the lien takes effect.

Request an Adjustment

It is shocking how often the state or federal government makes an inaccurate assessment of your tax liability. A tax assessment can carry errors; it may have been performed without full awareness of the facts, or there can simply be mistakes. For example, the government may conduct a property assessment of your home based on comparable homes and the external appearance, without being aware that an entire floor of your home is unusable, which reduces its value.

When this happens, you can dispute the tax assessment. If you wish to take this route, however, it is best to get started before the government places a lien on the property. Our federal & state tax lien services can help you with this process.

Request Property Discharge

You can request that the IRS discharge a lien against a specific piece of property if you seek to sell, transfer, or refinance the property. For example, if you wish to refinance the mortgage on your home in an effort to obtain a lower payment, which will help you to pay your tax burden, the IRS may be willing to discharge the lien to allow the process to move forward. It is likely in these situations that the government will place restrictions on the discharge, such as requiring you to put funds that arise from the property change into paying your debt.

Seek Lien Subordination

Subordination of a lien basically means that the government temporarily puts the lien on hold. They do not discharge it entirely, but they step back to allow you to use the property as you need, such as using it as collateral when applying for credit. Subordination, however, only occurs for a specific period, and when that period ends, the full lien goes into effect once more.

Get the Lien Withdrawn

Withdrawing the lien does not mean that the lien is discharged, nor that it no longer exists. It means that there is no notice of the lien publicly. Thus, when creditors check your credit report, they do not see the lien in place. The government does this either for the purpose of allowing you to use the property to raise funds, or when you have a payment agreement with them through direct debit payments.

Where to Find Federal & State Tax Lien Removal Help

Dealing with a tax burden is stressful and can be damaging in a very real way to your financial stability. Seeking the right federal & state tax lien removal help can be the difference between crushing and stressful debt, and peace of mind that you are on the road to financial freedom.

At Instant Tax Solutions, our professionals are ready to explore your options and help you escape the burden of tax liens. Give us a call today at (888) 921-3781, or use our online form for a free, no-obligation appointment.

What is a Federal Tax Lien?

Many taxpayers have made costly mistakes leading to unwanted scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service. Whether individual taxpayers or business owners, the rules are the same—you get behind on your taxes and you face a federal tax lien. Some are stunned, wondering what they should do next? You need IRS tax lien help from a qualified tax attorney to understand how these penalties operate and what can be done to ease the process of paying those back taxes and getting out of trouble.

Understanding the legalities

A federal tax lien is an attempt by the IRS to collect a debt, and should not be taken lightly. The first part of answering the question can be summed up as follows: A lien is attached to all your property, including your house and your car, and all your rights to your property. Business owners take note—this includes accounts receivable. Before filing, the government must meet several legal requirements. After first assessing the liability, the IRS should then receive a deposit or acceptable bond in the amount equal to its interest in the property. If you are selling your primary residence, you may be entitled to a relocation expense allowance. You may instead want the IRS to subordinate its lien, which gives it a lower priority over liens filed by other creditors.

Subordination might be needed in cases where a creditor refuses to lend unless their lien is satisfied first. In turn, the government will allow this if it is reasonable, if you give them the dollar value of the lien, and if you prove how subordination would speed up the tax collection process.

But if the IRS chooses to enforce its collection authority, it does so through a levy, which allows the government to attach all monies held by a third party. While a lien is security for a tax debt, a levy goes one step further, seizing property to fully or partially satisfy the tax debt.

 

Lien versus Levy: What is the difference?

A levy is an execution of power to seize property, while the federal tax lien remains a dormant right of the government. That right can be awakened by events such as the taxpayer’s sale or attempted sale of the property, or the IRS seeking to foreclose on the lien through a judicial procedure.

A federal tax lien can lull the taxpayer into a false sense of security by allowing use of the property or the opportunity to derive income from it. Sometimes the taxpayer may even sell the property to a buyer who has no knowledge of the lien, without incurring any legal obligation. But forget it’s there and it may spring up out of the legal shadows when you least expect it.

The lien is authorized by the Internal Revenue Code, which states that if anyone liable to pay any tax neglects or refuses to pay it after demand has been made, the amount—including interest, tax, penalties and any additional fees—shall be a lien in favor of the United States on all property and rights to property, whether real or personal. The IRS is required to give notice and demand payment 60 days after assessment of the tax debt. Three things must exist for federal tax liens to come into existence:

  • the assessment of the tax liability
  • the demand for payment and
  • the refusal or neglect to pay it

What to Expect When You Receive a Federal Tax lien

Once the initial shock of receiving such a notice subsides, clients need legal representation from a qualified tax attorney before proceeding further. Navigating federal tax lien help requires an understanding of the process. The most important things to learn include:

  • How it arises
  • Types property that can be attached
  • Duration
  • Priority over other creditors
  • How the federal tax lien can be removed

The IRS Will Take Priority

The notice of federal tax lien stems from failure to pay any tax after the IRS demands payment. It is retroactive to the date of assessment, and it remains in force until the debt is paid or becomes unenforceable due to the statute of limitations. The actual filing of the notice is not required. The real significance behind filing it is the establishment of the IRS’s priority over other claimants and creditors to the taxpayer’s property. For example, if you owe several thousand dollars on auto loans, credit card debt or some other type of unsecured debt, those take a back seat to paying off the federal government.

Confusing Tax Codes and Language

The Internal Revenue Code gets very specific about how and where to file a notice of federal tax lien against both real and personal property. For real property, the notice should be filed in the office in the state where the property is located. In most states this means the notice is filed with the land records in the county where the land lies. The business property of a corporation or partnership is the place where the principal office is located. A notice for a taxpayer living abroad should be filed with the Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia.

Sometimes a federal tax lien must be refiled to remove any doubt over whether it is still enforceable when the notice shows the assessment is more than 10 years old. In this case, the IRS must file the notice of federal tax lien within a one-year period ending 10 years and 30 days after the date of the assessment. Sometimes taxpayers will look for a way out, pointing out minor errors in the information on the notices in the hopes that such mistakes would invalidate the lien. For example, if something other than the taxpayer’s legal name appears on the notice (such as a nickname), the question is whether it is sufficient to alert another creditor of the existence of the lien. Some courts have ruled that a minor misspelling voids the entire notice.

Confusing Language

The scope of a notice is all-inclusive. To avoid confusion, the wording of the lien states it is attached to “ all property and rights to property” of the individual liable for the tax. Some interpret this broad, sweeping language to include real, personal and intangible property of widely varying natures, future interests, and even property the taxpayer acquires after the lien has come into existence. In Aquiline vs. U.S., the Supreme Court maintained that the key point was whether or not, and to what extent, the taxpayer had property or rights to property to which the tax lien could attach. The answer to that lies in state law, which controls the nature of the taxpayer’s legal interest. However, once the taxpayer’s property interest has been established under state law, federal law then determines the consequences of the existence of the notice of the lien.

How to Handle the Situation

You’ve done your best to pay your bills, your mortgage, and fulfill your tax obligations, then you started to struggle financially in today’s faltering economy. Maybe you lost your job or had some unexpected expenses arise. Now you are falling behind and in trouble. Sell your home? It’s not that easy, because now you are in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service and facing a lien against the house.

Why you should understand your rights for IRS tax lien help

In a nutshell, federal tax liens are encumbrance against all of the taxpayer’s property and rights to property. It is similar to a bank’s mortgage or ownership of a car, with a few key exceptions. Federal tax liens encompass everything the taxpayer owns, including the cash in his wallet, the clothes on his back and the furniture in his house. It is non-consensual, meaning that while a person may choose to apply for a bank loan to purchase a home, it can arise without the taxpayer’s consent or permission.

All the paperwork and what it means

One thing to remember is that when the taxpayer is transferring property ownership they may apply for a Certificate of Discharge. Each approved application releases the effects of the federal tax lien against one piece of property. Sometimes a third party can even request that they themselves file the certificate. But when money and taxes are involved the filing a federal tax lien can get sticky. Despite attempts to prioritize and place the government first, creditors can refuse to extend the taxpayer credit unless their lien is satisfied first, before the federal tax lien. When this happens, subordination is needed. Subordination is the process that makes the federal tax lien secondary to another lien.

What are my rights to appeal for an IRS Tax Lien Removal?

But there is always a way to officially appeal the process. If a taxpayer believes a lien has been filed against them in error, they may request a Certificate of Non-attachment. This can happen when the taxpayer’s name is similar or identical to another person. There is a specific protocol in reversing the filing. The IRS may withdraw the lien if:

  • Notice was filed too soon or not according to its procedures
  • If the taxpayer had entered into an installment agreement to pay the debt
  • If withdrawing the lien would speed up the collection process
  • If withdrawal would be in the taxpayer’s and government’s best interest.

Electronic filing simplified

For the sake of efficiency, the IRS processes all notices electronically. Doing this enables the release of the data in a more cost-effective and timely way. With this in mind, the “E-lien” system actually benefits the interests of the taxpayer by streamlining the process. Because of all the paperwork involved, manually filing could significantly slow down the entire process. And remember, because of the sensitive nature of the documentation, any delays are counterproductive. Recording offices sometimes return documents unrecorded or set them aside, causing the IRS to lose priority status. Taxpayers may actually be harmed when certificates of release, revocations and withdrawals are not promptly recorded.

Requesting a Release - How to Finally Get Rid of a Federal or State Tax Lien!

Time Is of the Essence

The Notice stays in place until you proactively take action to release it. Specifically, it will be released within 30 days if:

  • The debt is paid in full.
  • The amount owed is adjusted appropriately.
  • An accepted bond guaranteeing payment is provided.

It can actually be withdrawn if:

  • It is determined that the filing was not done according to procedure
  • The taxpayer chooses to participate in a payment plan (this is more easily negotiated with the help of a qualified tax professional acting on your behalf), or
  • It would be in the best interest of both parties to withdraw

Taxpayers have the right to appeal the filing and ask for help removing a federal tax lien.

Working With the IRS

You can work with the government to remove a federal tax lien by applying to have it discharged. It is imperative to have an experienced professional help you communicate. Four possible resolutions exist:

  • Partial payment can be made
  • The government could determine its interest in the property has no value
  • The government agrees to receive the proceeds from the sale or refinance of the property, or
  • The taxpayer can submit another piece of property with a fair market value at least double the amount of the tax owed

The Appeals Process

The IRS must notify the taxpayer within five days after the federal tax lien is filed. Some of the circumstances on which an appeal can be based are:

  • The debt owed was paid prior to the notice being filed
  • The tax was assessed and filed while the taxpayer was in bankruptcy
  • A procedural error was made during the assessment
  • The statue of limitations on the debt had expired before anything was filed
  • The taxpayer was not given a chance to dispute the liability.

 

Dealing with the State Issued Notices

Despite the noblest of intentions, taxpayers can get hopelessly confused when it comes to understanding the tangled web of tax information at our disposal. This is especially true when a state tax lien is threatening your household finances. These are particularly unsettling because you are at risk of having the government step in and take everything you own.

Understanding a State Tax Lien

Many taxpayers are not familiar with these types of penalties. Important details to remember are:

  • If a person fails to pay a tax debt, plus any additional penalties and interest, this becomes a lien in favor of the state.
  • It allows your personal property (cars, boats or business equipment) as well as real property to be sold.
  • All current creditors (and future creditors) are notified, affecting your credit rating.

How to Get It Released With the State

There are two ways to have a state tax lien removed.

1) Payment in Full

The first is payment in full, including penalties and interest that have accrued, or full payment based on a settlement agreement. Once the tax debt is paid, the state tax lien is removed although notice that it once existed will remain on public record.

2) Prove it was an Error

The second way is to prove it was issued in error. If this is the case, public records will show that the lien was issued in error and withdrawn.

Effects on Your Credit Rating

One thing that most people don’t know that even on the state level, a penalty like this can really affect an individual’s credit rating. Credit reporting agencies have access to county and state records, and liens are always shown on credit reports.

Related Tax Problems

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