Federal tax lien law · IRC 6321 to 6326
A federal tax lien is a legal document. Read it like one.
The IRS lien attaches the day your tax is assessed and not paid after demand. The public notice comes later, if it comes at all. Withdrawal, release, nonattachment, priority, refiling, lien hearings: each one has its own statute, its own form and its own deadline. This library walks through all of them in plain English.
Where are you right now?
Pick the sentence that sounds like you
The Lien Library
30 guides, organized like a case file
How a Lien Arises
The statutory lien under IRC 6321: when it starts, what it reaches, how long it lasts.
The Public Notice
The Notice of Federal Tax Lien: when the IRS files it, where it goes, and how to read it.
Lien Hearings and Appeals
Collection Due Process lien hearings, equivalent hearings, and the erroneous-lien appeal.
Withdrawal
Taking the notice off the public record under IRC 6323(j).
Release and Nonattachment
Certificates of release, self-releasing liens, refiling, revocation and nonattachment.
- Certificate of Nonattachment: When the Lien Is Not Yours
- Certificate of Release of Federal Tax Lien: The 30-Day Rule
- Suing the IRS for Failure to Release a Lien: IRC 7432
- How Long Does a Federal Tax Lien Last?
- Refiling a Federal Tax Lien: How IRC 6323(g) Works
- When the IRS Revokes a Lien Release Under IRC 6325(f)(2)
Priority and Property
Who gets paid first, which property the lien reaches, and the exceptions.
- The 45-Day Rule: Business Lenders and the Federal Tax Lien
- Federal Tax Lien Priority: Who Gets Paid First
- The Tax Lien Follows You: After-Acquired Property
- Does the Tax Lien Reach Exempt Property and Retirement Plans?
- Nominee, Alter Ego and Transferee Tax Liens
- The Ten Superpriorities That Beat a Filed Federal Tax Lien
- Federal Tax Liens on Jointly Owned Property
Living With a Lien
Credit, business operations, financing and the practical cost of a filed notice.
Who writes this
Darrin T. Mish is a tax attorney in Tampa, Florida. He was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1993 (Bar No. 986641), is also admitted in Colorado and Texas, and is admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court and the Supreme Court of the United States. Every guide here cites the Internal Revenue Code section, Treasury Regulation or Internal Revenue Manual provision it relies on, so you can check the work.