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A federal tax lien is filed against you when you have failed to pay the taxes you owe. It is essentially the government making a legal claim against your property in a bid to protect the government’s interest. If you want to know how to get a tax lien released, here are a few things you need to know.

Show That The IRS Filed The Lien Prematurely

For example, if you had an overpayment that could satisfy a tax lien, but the IRS filed the lien anyway, you may be able to get it withdrawn. It could also be withdrawn on the same grounds if you had filed for bankruptcy or you were in a combat zone.

If Withdrawing The Lien Will Facilitate IRS Collection

If, for instance, you have no assets and do not think you will acquire any in the future, you may arrange to make bigger payments to the IRS through deductions from your payroll. This will enable them to get more of their money than they would have received through garnishment of your wages.

Pay Your Taxes in Full

This will be done alongside other conditions such as:

  • Requesting the withdrawal in writing
  • Being up to date on estimated tax payments as well as federal tax deposits
  • Filing compliance for the last three years of tax returns

Once all of this has been done, you can expect to get your tax lien released.

The Statute of Limitations Expires

This is another way out if you are wondering about how to get a tax lien released. IRS collections have a statute of limitations, and once this expires, a tax lien becomes unenforceable. The length of time is typically ten years, and after they lapse, the tax lien is considered to be fully released unless the IRS refiled the tax lien. With the IRS fiscal tax year running from October 1 to September 30, you can easily calculate the length of time that passes after you have had a lien filed against you.

If you have more concerns on how to get a tax lien released, you should work with a licensed tax professional who will guide you and answer your questions. It is important to know how to go about it correctly to avoid getting into further trouble and even try to get out of the deep end.