Can an IRS tax lien be re-filed? Can the IRS re-file the Notice of Federal Tax Lien? How does the IRS renew a tax lien? As a tax attorney I have been asked the above questions and therefore have prepared the article below to provide general information regarding such issue. Please remember, that the article below is for informational purposes only. Please contact your tax attorney or tax professional directly to discuss the current tax laws and your specific issues and circumstances.
To retain priority as of the initial date the tax lien was filed, a Notice of Federal Tax Lien filed by the Internal Revenue Service must be re-filed within the required re-filing period. If a re-filing of the IRS tax lien does not occur, most notices of federal tax lien will self release 30 days after the date that is ten years from the assessment date. This self release of the IRS tax lien can occur regardless of an extension of the IRS collection statute or suspension or tolling of the IRS collection statute. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6323(g)(3)(A) the IRS’ notice of federal tax lien can be re-filed during the one year period that ends 30 days after the expiration of the ten years from the date of assessment date.
For example, assume Jeff was assessed a tax liability on April 1, 1995 and the Internal Revenue Service filed a tax lien on August 1, 1995. The self releasing date of the IRS tax lien would be May 1, 2005. Even if Jeff tolled the collection statute by filing bankruptcy or by submitting an offer in compromise, the period for re-filing the IRS tax lien would begin May 1, 2004 and continue until May 1, 2005.
Where will the IRS re-file the tax lien? Again, this is a common question and will be discussed briefly below. Typically, the IRS will file a tax lien in multiple locations, and thus the question a to where they will re-file or must re-file the tax lien is a legitimate question. Because the IRS files tax liens in multiple offices, when re-filing the tax lien, the IRS must re-file in each of the initial offices whereby the initial liens were filed. See Internal Revenue Code Section 6326(g)(3)(A). When the IRS files the initial notices of federal tax liens (self releasing tax liens) in multiple offices regarding a particular tax assessment, if the IRS fails to timely file the re-filing notices in each of the offices, the assessment lien will release and the re-filing of the other tax liens is considered ineffective. See Treasury Regulations Section 301.6323(g)-1(a)(1). Thus, if the IRS fails to properly re-file the tax lien in one office, the underlying assessment lien is invalid and the re-filed tax liens would be ineffective.
You can discuss your tax lien questions and issues with a tax attorney at The McGuire Law Firm. The McGuire Law Firm has offices in Denver, Colorado and Golden, Colorado.
