Our attorneys are able to negotiate your tax liens and levies and advise you if you think you have been victim to the IRS. Liens and levies can be complicated, confusing, and terrifying all at once. The best way to alleviate some of the anxiety of being faced with a tax lien or levy is to understand what those terms mean to you. Our attorneys will review your documents, advise you of their meaning and then suggest possible courses of action.

A lien is security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt. In order to get a lien the creditor (in this case the IRS) will have to go to court and prove that you them the money. Once that is done the tax lien becomes public record. A tax lien will severely damage your credit report, can cost you thousands of dollars in interest, or even prevent you from obtaining credit and loans. Generally they must be paid off before any moderate or major credit decision will be approved.

The IRS will often put liens on delinquent taxpayers’ properties. For instance you can put a lien on a house, some land, a car, machinery, and just about any kind property. The IRS doesn’t get their money until that piece of property is sold. They cannot force you to sell the property.

A levy is actually worse than lien. A levy is a legal seizure of your property to satisfy a tax debt. The IRS routinely Levies taxpayers’ bank accounts. Since many people don’t understand the letters the IRS sends advising the person of the imminent Levy, the taxpayer misses the allotted 21 days to settle with the IRS or show that the levy would create a hardship. That’s why you need to consult with an attorney as soon as you receive any correspondence from the IRS. Our attorneys will be able to advise you what the letters mean, what remedies you have available, and if we are able to submit an “Offer in Compromise” negotiating down the amount of debt you owe to the IRS.