Tax liens after bankruptcy
By Cathy Moran, California Bankruptcy Lawyer on Jun 23, 2007 in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Debts Not Dischargeable, General Bankruptcy Information, Tax Issues
Despite my repetition of the bankruptcy maxim that liens survive the bankruptcy discharge, the client panicked when they were “invited” to meeting with the IRS. The revenue officer wanted to discuss their tax liens, which the letter identified in the prebankruptcy amount (in this case, tens of thousands of dollars).
A lien is a right in property, real property or personal property. Although the tax debt in my case was for $77,000, the only part of that huge sum that was secured was equal to the value of the client’s assets at the filing of the case.
So, that big, scary “tax lien” turns out to be secured by the debtor’s household goods, a used up car, and a small IRA. Not an insurmountable problem.
When the underlying tax debt is discharged in the bankruptcy, the lien that has been recorded does not attach to assets the client acquires after the bankruptcy case is filed. The IRS’s rights are confined to the assets that existed on the date the case was commenced.
More later on your choices as to tax liens that survive the discharge.
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