How to Fight IRS Liens in Texas
The Internal Revenue Service can file a tax lien on a Texas property for the owner's alleged failure to pay federal income taxes. If the IRS puts a lien on your Texas property and you wish to dispute the move, you must deal directly with a local IRS agent in Texas, not the Texas revenue department, which only concerns itself with state taxes. Keep in mind that you can only dispute an IRS tax lien if you believe it was filed inaccurately or fraudulently.
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Things You'll Need
- IRS tax lien information (amount, date filed, account number)
- Copy of credit report
- Documents pertaining to your argument (paid in full letter, bank statement)
Instructions
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Pull a copy of your credit report to confirm the lien on your property. You can do this free by visiting annualcreditreport.com and following the online directions. This is the federally-mandated web site that provides up to three free credit reports annually (one from each main credit reporting company) to any American citizen who requests one. Print out your credit report, then circle the tax lien information and make copies of this.
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Visit the Registry of Deeds in your Texas town or city. Research your property by entering the street address for the property on which the lien is filed into the Registry's database. Most Registries now have computer systems that house all deeds. If not, find an abstractor at the Registry to help comb through the legal deeds for the town.
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Find the copy of the actual IRS tax lien. Scan through the list of results on the Registry's computer database. Results will include: recorded mortgages, recorded mortgage notes and all liens. Find the IRS lien in question and bring it up on the screen Click "Print Screen."
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Review your tax records and any correspondence with the IRS. You must have an ironclad reason if you intend to fight an IRS lien. The IRS will only withdraw the lien if one of the following has occurred: (1) It filed the lien too early; (2) You have already set up an installment plan to repay the lien and are paying on it; or (3) the Taxpayer Advocate requests the removal (due to distressed financial conditions such as permanent disability). If you are experiencing a severe hardship, contact your Texas Taxpayer Advocate
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Collect all documents that support your argument for withdrawal of the lien. Make sure these are copies, not originals. Circle any pertinent information on the documents. This could include: installment plan statements, bank statements, correspondence from the IRS, or paid in full letters.
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Contact your local IRS office in Texas to schedule a meeting. You should conduct this meeting in person. Hire a tax attorney, if you can afford one. This person can argue on your behalf.
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Ask for an installment plan at the Texas IRS office if your argument is rejected. Agreeing to an installment plan will force the IRS to remove the tax lien from both your property and your credit report.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit tax forms image by Chad McDermott from Fotolia.com
