Tax Lien Lawyers in Shelby County

In Shelby County, Tennessee, a "lien" is specified as a property right that's authorized to a creditor against a piece of property owned by a debtor, for the purpose of collecting on the debt if the debtor is unwilling or unable to pay. A lien permits its owner to exercise some control over the property that is the subject of the lien. This includes the right to force a sale of the property, and to seize the resulting revenue, and priority access to the property ahead of other creditors.

A "tax lien," then, is a lien held by the government to collect a tax-related debt from a private entity, such as a citizen or corporation in Shelby County, Tennessee.

Tax liens in Shelby County, Tennessee are ineffective if the taxpayer doesn't have any property to place the lien on. However, basically any property, including that which the taxpayer acquires after the lien goes into effect, can be affected by a tax lien.

Tax Lien Procedure in Shelby County, Tennessee

The actual process of setting up a Shelby County, Tennessee tax lien is typically pretty simple. The agency responsible for collecting taxes must first decide that a tax lien is warranted, typically by finding that the debtor owes a significant amount of back taxes.

Then, the IRS, or state tax authorities, send a "notice and demand," informing the taxpayer that they owe back taxes, and that they are obligated to pay their taxes within 10 days.

If the deadline passes without payment, most tax liens in Tennessee take effect automatically, giving the tax collectors all of the options in your property that any other lien holder would have.

But, under federal law, there are limits to how tax liens can be enforced in Shelby County, Tennessee, and elsewhere. Usually, the IRS has 10 years to try and enforce a tax lien. If no effort is made to enforce a tax lien for 10 years, the lien is automatically lifted, and the lien holder loses all rights in it. This rule exists to ensure that the government collects its taxes in a reasonable time period, and it prevents valuable property (which could otherwise be contributing to the economy by being bought and sold) is not laded with a lien for an indefinite period of time.

How Can a Shelby County, Tennessee Tax Lien Lawyer Help?

If you receive notice from the federal government, or the government of Tennessee that a tax lien has been imposed on your property, some pretty intricate legal issues are necessarily involved.

Therefore, it's important that you contact a tax attorney in Shelby County, Tennessee to ensure that whatever legal rights you have in this situation are defended. Your attorney will also be able to advise you on how to best deal with the situation.