done before severely damaging a seller’s credit rating — even if selling a home to clear debts — it’s still possible to purchase a new home. According to IRS guidance, if there’s a federal tax lien on your home, you must satisfy the lien before you can sell or re fin ance the home. Th ere are several options to satisfy the tax lien. Until a few years ago, the IRS could impose a tax lien on an individual’s property, assets, or bank accounts for a debt as small as $5,000. Th at changed in 2011, however, when the agency announced that, because of the pressures of in fl ation and the struggling economy, it was increasing its limit to $10,000. If you owe less than this amount, the IRS will work out an overdue tax installment- payment plan with your tax attorney, but it’s not as if they’re going to forgive the debt: you still have to pay your taxes, or risk sign ifi cant penalties — including jail time. At the same time as it increased its threshold for tax liens, the IRS instituted another policy that works to the taxpayer’s bene fi t. If you owe more than $10,000 in back taxes, for example, and end up with a lien on your house, you can ask the IRS to withdraw the lien once your bill is paid in full. Th is means the IRS will remove any trace of the lien from its public records, and the lien will no longer impact your credit. A lien is a red fl ag to credit agencies, which will drop your score by hundreds of points when the IRS tax debt is reported. Th e trick here is that you must actively fi le for an IRS withdrawal; if you simply pay the debt and don’t pursue its removal, the lien will continue to impact your credit for as long as seven years a ft er it’s been paid o ff . Normally, if you have equity in your property, the tax lien is paid, partly or fully, out of the sales proceeds at closing. According to the IRS, if the home is being sold for less than the lien amount, the 111
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