Remove a Tax Lien From Your Credit Report

If you have a tax lien on your credit report, you should take immediate action to remove it. This is a very bad mark and will lower your score considerably.

The first step is to have the bureaus validate the lien. You need to send each bureau a dispute letter. Once your letter is received an investigation will occur. The bureaus will contact the government and ask them to verify your debt. If it is verified you are going to have to make payment to remove it.

Depending on the amount you owe it may be in your interest to contact a tax negotiator. This is because they can often negotiate a reduced payment for you. However you can also negotiate directly with the government. It can be collected upon for 10 years, and will stay on your report for 7 years once it is paid.

Upon payment you should wait around 3 months and then send another dispute letter to the bureaus asking for validation. We have learned that once the government has received payment they often will ignore a request for validation.

Thus it will not be verified and will be removed from your report. Additionally if this mark was make in error then send any documentation along with your letter to prove that. It is estimated that 1 in every 4 people have an error on the report.

Repayment

The IRS and state government often accept partial payment. To propose this you will make an offer in compromise, often called an OIC.

The government will look at; your ability to repay, your income, your assets, and what they expect to recover. Additionally it will help your chances of acceptance, if you attach a letter explaining financial hardship. It may be in your interest to hire a negotiator to help with this. However you do not have to just live with this mark on your report.

In sum, you can remove a tax lien and should. You don’t just have to wait seven long years for this mark to fall off.

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