Tax Liens

A tax lien is an involuntary lien being imposed by the government on a property through legislature to ensure that the owner will pay property taxes. Tax liens are levied to properties whose owners do not pay their due taxes on real or personal property and to citizens who do not pay their individual taxes.

Owners of real estate properties must regularly pay property taxes. Even if the owner just bought a certain property, she has the sole responsibility to pay all the property taxes obligated by the law to its past owners. Failure to pay the property taxes in line with the policies set by the U.S. federal government will subject the property to a tax lien. If the owner continues to refuse paying the taxes of her property, it will eventually be brought to foreclosure. The government will seize the property and sell it through a lien sale.

Citizens who refuse to pay their individual taxes will also be subjected by law to a tax lien. In this case, the law gives the government the right to impose liens on any of the taxpayers' possessions, including home, cars, lands, and other properties that they might acquire in the future. These tax liens will be enacted until such time that these delinquent citizens already pay their taxes. Otherwise, the government has the claim against all the items on lien.