A lien is a claim on your property. A levy takes it. Here is what each one means and how to protect what is yours.
A tax lien is a legal claim against your property that secures the tax debt; a tax levy is the actual seizure of your assets. A lien protects the government's interest, a levy collects on it.
You can address a lien through withdrawal, release, subordination, or discharge, and the surest way to clear it is to resolve the underlying balance. A levy can be released once an alternative is in place.
These two terms are often confused, but they are very different, and the distinction changes your options.
In short: a lien says the government has an interest in what you own. A levy is the government taking it.
There are four main tools, and the right one depends on your goal, whether that is protecting a sale, your credit, or a specific asset:
Resolving the underlying balance is what ultimately clears a lien, and we build the plan to get there.
A levy can be released once you put an acceptable alternative in place, such as a payment plan, hardship status, or a pending offer, or if you show the levy is improper or creates immediate hardship.
Watch the deadline. A Final Notice of Intent to Levy (Letter LT11 or 1058) gives you 30 days to request a Collection Due Process hearing. That hearing is a powerful right, and missing the window forfeits it. If you have this notice, act now.
We can often contact the agency the same day to seek a release.
The same three-stage approach, applied to your case.
We confirm what lien or levy was filed, why, and which relief, withdrawal, release, subordination, or discharge, applies to your goal.
Where a sale, refinance, or paycheck is at stake, we pursue the specific relief that lets it proceed and preserve your appeal rights.
We put the plan in place to satisfy or settle the debt behind the lien, which is what ultimately clears it.
A lien is a legal claim against your property that secures the debt. A levy is the seizure of your assets to collect it. A lien is a warning and an encumbrance; a levy is the actual taking.
The major credit bureaus no longer include tax liens on consumer credit reports, but a recorded Notice of Federal Tax Lien is still public and can surface in a title search, complicating a home sale, refinance, or business loan. Withdrawal removes the public filing.
Often yes, through a discharge (to sell a specific property) or subordination (to allow a refinance). These require an application and IRS approval, which we prepare and manage.
A lien is released when the balance is satisfied and can be withdrawn (removing the public notice) when you qualify, such as after entering a direct-debit installment agreement. We determine the fastest route for your situation.
Act before the 30-day deadline. That notice gives you the right to a Collection Due Process hearing, which can stop the levy and open settlement options. We file the request and represent you through it.
It is rare and requires additional legal steps, but the IRS can levy real property in serious cases. Far more common are bank and wage levies. Representation and an agreed alternative are how you take that risk off the table.
A free, confidential consultation about your federal or state tax matter. No obligation, no pressure.
