Appealing the Filing of a Federal Tax Lien

You can appeal a federal tax lien if the following occured when it was filed. The law requires the IRS to notify you within 5 business days of a lien being filed. The IRS can give you this notice in person or leave it at your home or your usual place of business. The IRS can also send it by certified or registered mail to your last know address.

If you feel this was not done, you can ask an IRS manager to review your case. You can ask for a Collection Due Process hearing with the office of appeals by filing a request for a hearing with the office listed on your notice. There is a deadline to file for a request so check your notice for that date.

These are the issues you can discuss in your appeals hearing or with the IRS manager.

- You paid all your taxes before the IRS filed the lien
- The IRS assessed the tax and filed the lien while you were in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy puts you in a automatic stay of collections for that time period.
- The time to collect the tax, known as the statute of limitations, expired before the IRS filed the lien.
- You did not have time to dispute the assessed tax liability.
- You wish to discuss the collection options.
- You wish to make spousal defense.

When your Collection Due Process hearing is over, the IRS office of appeals with issue a determination. It will either support the lien filed or if the lien needs to be released or withdrawn. If you disagree with the determination, there is a 30 day period starting with the date of determination, in which you may request Judaical review in a court of proper jurisdiction.