Withdrawing Liens

by Peymon of Freedom Law School

This educational paper has been produced in part by Freedom Law School (FLS). FLS is dedicated to restoring freedom and justice by educating and empowering people to know their rights and proper procedures that they need to follow to assert and defend their rights and have their public servants act as their servants and respect their rights rather than violating them and their rights. For more empowering educational information about the law, your rights and proper legal procedures, you can call FLS at (760) 868-4271. You may also get more information by going to FLS web site at www.livefreenow.org  

Withdrawing Liens

By law, a filed notice of tax lien can be withdrawn if:

• The notice was filed too soon or not according to IRS procedures,

• You entered into an installment agreement to pay the debt on the notice of lien (unless the agreement provides otherwise),

• Withdrawal will speed collecting the tax, or

• Withdrawal would be in your best interest (as determined by the Taxpayer Advocate), and in the best interest of the government.

Releasing a Lien

The IRS will issue a Release of the Notice of Federal Tax Lien:

• Within 30 days after you satisfy the tax due (including interest and other additions) by paying the debt or by having it adjusted, or

• Within 30 days after IRS accepts a bond that you submit, guaranteeing payment of the debt.

In addition, you must pay all fees that a state or other jurisdiction charges to file and release the lien. These fees will be added to the amount you owe. Refer to Publication 1450 (PDF), Request for Release of Federal Tax Lien.

Usually 10 years after a tax is assessed, a lien releases automatically if the Service has not filed it again. If the IRS knowingly or negligently do not release a Notice of Federal Tax Lien when it should be released, you may sue the federal government, but not IRS employees, for damages.