Once the IRS files a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, the general rule is that anyone who comes along later takes subject to it. A lender that records a mortgage next month is behind the IRS. A buyer who purchases your property next year buys it with the lien attached.
But commerce has to keep moving. People buy cars, groceries and stock from strangers without running lien searches, and Congress decided some of those transactions should be safe. The result is IRC 6323(b), a list of ten interests that are protected "even though notice of a lien imposed by section 6321 has been filed." IRM 5.17.2.6.5 calls them "superpriorities."
1. Securities (6323(b)(1))
A purchaser of a security who, at the time of purchase, did not have actual notice or knowledge of the lien, and a holder of a security interest in a security who lacked actual notice or knowledge when the interest arose, take free of the lien. Section 6323(h)(4) defines "security" broadly, including stocks, bonds, notes, negotiable instruments and money. IRM 5.17.2.6.5.1 adds, citing the regulations, that a later buyer from a protected purchaser is also protected even if that later buyer knows about the lien.
Note the standard: actual notice or knowledge, not the filed notice. A filed notice in the county records does not, by itself, defeat a securities buyer.
2. Motor vehicles (6323(b)(2))
A purchaser of a motor vehicle takes free of the lien if, at the time of purchase, the purchaser did not have actual notice or knowledge of it, and, before obtaining such notice, acquired possession of the vehicle and has not since given possession back to the seller or the seller's agent. Section 6323(h)(3) defines a motor vehicle as a self-propelled vehicle registered for highway use.
3. Personal property purchased at retail (6323(b)(3))
A buyer of tangible personal property purchased at retail, in the ordinary course of the seller's business, takes free of the lien unless the buyer intends the purchase to, or knows it will, hinder, evade or defeat collection of tax. If your business owes the IRS, your customers buying inventory off the shelf are not acquiring your tax problem.
4. Casual sales under a dollar limit (6323(b)(4))
A purchaser of household goods, personal effects or other tangible personal property described in section 6334(a), bought not for resale in a casual sale, is protected if the price is under the statutory limit and the buyer has no actual notice or knowledge of the lien or that the sale is one of a series of sales.
The statute says $1,000, but section 6323(i)(4) indexes it for inflation for notices filed after 1998. For calendar year 2026, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.48, sets the casual sale limit at less than $2,000.
5. Possessory liens for repairs (6323(b)(5))
A person holding a local-law lien on tangible personal property to secure the reasonable price of repairing or improving it beats the IRS, as long as that person has been continuously in possession since the lien arose. Think of the mechanic holding your truck until the repair bill is paid.
6. Real property taxes and special assessments (6323(b)(6))
A lien on real property that local law ranks ahead of earlier security interests beats the federal tax lien if it secures:
- a tax of general application based on the property's value;
- a special assessment imposed directly on the property to pay for a public improvement; or
- charges for utilities or public services furnished to the property by a government or its instrumentality.
This is why ordinary county property taxes come ahead of the IRS. IRM 5.17.2 contrasts this with other state and local taxes, such as income or sales taxes, which have to compete under the first-in-time choateness test.
7. Small residential repair contracts (6323(b)(7))
A mechanic's lienor who repaired or improved a personal residence with no more than four dwelling units, occupied by the owner, is protected if the contract price with the owner is not more than the statutory limit. The statute says $5,000, indexed under section 6323(i)(4). For calendar year 2026, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.48, sets the limit at $10,010.
A roofer who replaces the roof on an owner-occupied home for a contract price within that limit can have priority over a previously filed IRS lien.
8. Attorneys' liens (6323(b)(8))
An attorney who holds a local-law lien on, or an enforceable contract against, a judgment or settlement has priority to the extent of reasonable compensation for obtaining the judgment or settlement. There is an exception: it does not apply to a judgment or settlement against the United States to the extent the government offsets it against the taxpayer's liabilities.
This matters in personal injury and business litigation. If you have a federal tax lien and a lawsuit recovery, your lawyer's reasonable fee generally comes first.
9. Life insurance, endowment and annuity contracts (6323(b)(9))
The insurer is protected for transactions before it had actual notice or knowledge of the lien; for automatic advances required to keep the contract in force under an agreement made before such notice; and after satisfaction of a levy under section 6332(b), unless the IRS later delivers a new notice of the lien to the insurer.
10. Deposit-secured loans (6323(b)(10))
A bank or similar institution described in sections 581 or 591 that makes a loan secured by a savings deposit, share or other account, without actual notice or knowledge of the lien, is protected to the extent of the loan. Before 1998 this was called the "passbook loan" exception.
Common threads
- Most turn on actual knowledge, not the public record. Securities, vehicles, casual sales, insurers and deposit-secured loans all ask what the person actually knew.
- Several protect ordinary commerce. Retail buyers, casual buyers and car buyers are not expected to search lien records.
- Some protect the people who add value to property: repairmen, small residential contractors, attorneys who create a recovery.
- Two have annual dollar limits. Check the year. The 2026 limits apply to notices filed in calendar year 2026, under section 6323(i)(4).
IRM 5.17.2.6.5 adds that the categories can overlap. If two apply, the IRS is to use the category that gives the greatest protection to the private interest.
Practical examples for taxpayers
- Selling your car privately. A buyer who pays you, takes the car and has no actual knowledge of your lien is generally protected under section 6323(b)(2). The money you received is still subject to the lien.
- A garage sale. Neighbors buying household goods for less than $2,000 in 2026 in a casual sale, without knowledge of the lien or that the sale is one of a series, are protected under section 6323(b)(4).
- A personal injury settlement. Your lawyer's reasonable fee under a local-law lien or enforceable contract generally comes ahead of the IRS under section 6323(b)(8). The rest of the recovery is subject to the lien.
- Your property tax bill. The county's lien for ad valorem property taxes generally ranks ahead of the IRS under section 6323(b)(6), which is one reason paying property taxes matters even when you owe the IRS.
What superpriorities do not do
They do not erase the debt. If someone buys your car free of the lien, the lien does not follow the car, but it attaches to what you received for it. The proceeds are your property. And superpriorities protect the third party, not you; the lien still binds you and everything else you own.
For the main priority rules that apply when no superpriority fits, see federal tax lien priority rules. For business financing protections, see the 45-day rule for business lenders.
A filed notice puts the IRS near the front of the line. Section 6323(b) explains who still gets to cut.